One effective way of helping children to combat the pressures of conformity is to teach them to think for themselves. They should be trained to take part in home conversation, to form their own opinions, and then they should be encouraged to express these opinions. The trouble here, too often, is that the child must form many of his opinions from so little experience that he has insufficient data. But he should not have his opinion brushed aside with, “Oh, when you’re older you’ll make better sense,” or “You don’t know what you are talking about.”
