She is fourteen.
The mirror grows too small for her supple, lengthening figure. The dress shrinks, rises above her knees, then tightens at the breast. Her hair has wearied of the colored ribbon; it longs to break loose in a forelock over the forehead and a cascade over the shoulders. And her feet dream of a heel that rises higher and lifts them level with the eyes.
She is fourteen, and you, madam, are perplexed, murmuring: "It's a problem!"
But is there truly a problem?
The editor-in-chief, Edvick Shayboub,
opened the discussion, saying:
— As conscious mothers, we shall try to learn the reasons that lead a girl to think her mother reactionary or strict, so as to reach a conclusion useful to every mother.
Olga — Something happened between me and my daughter last week. After her companions had visited her, she came straight to me: Mama, get me "nylon" stockings, for I will not wear ankle socks after today. When, taken aback, I questioned her, she explained: some of my companions wear silk too, and I will not be the butt of their mockery. So I said to her: but nylon and silk stockings are things in which you look as though you were 25 years old.
Edvick — And was your daughter convinced by this logic? I believe logic is of no use to a girl at this age. Besides, her companions are the one authority she acknowledges and is influenced by.
Claire — That is why we must handle her by the method of tightening and slackening: now we pull tight, now we let out.
Sabiha — I allowed my daughter to wear nylon stockings even before she asked for them herself;
in this way I took the thrill out of them, and before long she had tired of them. And I hold that the school falls short in its cooperation with the home in guiding the girl at the stage when her womanhood is unfolding. The Ministry of Education should draw up modern programs that keep pace with the development of our social life beyond the walls of the playgrounds.
Hanana — The Ministry of Education should look carefully into adopting social education as a basic subject in the curriculum.
Edvick — The social side is not the only problem; the school must also impose a "uniform dress" on its pupils at this age.
Olga — And weekly meetings should be organized between the parents and the members of the teaching staff.
Sabiha — I suggest that, to win the girl's confidence, we should welcome her friends into the home.
Claire — And the mother must herself be her daughter's friend.
Hanana — My daughter trusts me blindly, because I am her friend.
Sabiha — But we must criticize