While Papa is passing out the cigars, the crimson-faced little Aries baby will yell for
attention in the bassinet. How dare you ignore him and talk to the nurse? Who's the
boss around here anyway?
You won't any more than get him in the taxi on the way home before that question
will be emphatically answered. Your Mars infant is the boss. Do you have any
doubts? They'll fade away when he's old enough to sit in the high chair and bang his spoon on the tray if you leave him alone too long. He'll never tease you or be subtle
about his preferred diet. There's not a subtle bone in his strong, active, broad-
shouldered little body. The Aries tot will spit out his vegetables as if they were shot from a cannon, and rub the cereal bowl on his tiny, bald head to make it quite clear
that this is definitely not the food baby likes. The girls will be as direct in their
actions as the boys. Maybe more so, though you hardly expect such fierce
determination from a soft, little miss. Did I say soft? April's metal is iron, and April's stone is the diamond, the hardest substance known to man.
He'll probably walk earlier than other babies, and certainly will talk earlier. He won't be easy to control. Say, "No, no," to an Aries toddler, and he'll shake his
chubby little finger right back at you in defiance. Discipline should be started quite
young. Be on guard against falls and injuries to the head or face. He's accident- prone, to put it mildly. Keep sharp knives out of reach, watch out for burns and
scalds. If there's anything hot or forbidden around, you can just bet the Aries child will stick his curious fist in it impulsively. You think that will teach him a lesson? Not this youngster. He'll try to break his own record.
Teething time may be feverish and severe. Baby will come through the ordeal with
little difficulty, but will you? .
When he gets a little older, you may get the breath squeezed out of you with one of his loving bear hugs. Aries children are usually affectionately demonstrative, except
for the few Mars youngsters whose early emotional experiences freeze their
normally warm hearts. These are the sad, quieter little sheep. But their horns are just as dangerous.
Better not ask relatives to babysit without warning them. If poor Aunt Maude
bravely takes him while you have a brief vacation, things could become a little
strained. She'll catch your Aries tot with his busy hand in the sugar bowl, and probably make the mistake of stamping her foot in displeasure. That will both
surprise and outrage the little ram into stamping his own small foot, and bursting out with his first complete sentence, "Aunt 'Mod'-don't you tell me sumpin'." So quaint.
Bet she won't "tell him something" again soon. (You might have to come home a
little early. He broke his big toe when he stamped his foot.)
As he grows older and stronger, after having fought measles, mumps, chicken pox
and scarlatina, and won hands down. (a battle with germs is no contest with the
quickly recuperating Mars nature), your Aries child will begin to show a pattern of
temper. You'll notice that he or she can be most unreasonable when thwarted, but
the anger won't last long. After a periodic explosion, the Aries boy or girl will beam a large, bright and winning smile your way.
He'll share his toys with amazing generosity with you, his playmates, the mailman, the neighbor's bulldog and the alley cat. However, his generosity will end if one of
them hurts his feelings or gets in the way of something he wants to do or somewhere he wants to go. Then look out for fireworks.
Aries boys and girls may fall into the early habit of neglecting homework, and using
your more obedient little Capricorn, Cancer, Virgo or Pisces child as an example
will hardly impress him. (I'm assuming you don't have more than one Aries
offspring. The planets don't do that to parents very often.) Instead of shaming the
Mare youngster into studying, challenge him. He'll lap up a challenge like that
favorite stray alley cat of his laps up cream. Just tell him (or her) that he's probably just slow, or not as bright as the other students, inferior in some way, but you don't mind. You love him anyway. Myl-'How .the dust will fly off those schoolbooks, as
he sets out to prove what a ridiculous theory that is. Someone who can top him? That will be the day-or night.
After you've watched the magic of such strategy at home, tip off his teacher. She'll get down on her knees and thank you. If she has more than one Aries student in her class, she may send you a five-pound box of candy. Actually, Mars youngsters can
learn anything in nothing flat, never forget it, and breeze through their studies, if they apply themselves. Not all parents know how to accomplish this. They may
spend years wondering why Mike and Maggie test with such a high I.Q., and still
manage to stay in the third grade for four years. They needn't worry too much,
however, because little Mike and Maggie will make up for lost time with the speed of a bullet, once they get out in the world and find out people are smarter than they
are. A couple of humiliations to the Mars ego, and they'll cram so fiercely, they'll skip a few grades.
Your April youngster will have a vivid imagination; he'll be as dreamy and
sentimental as a storybook, but he'll know very well how to get his bread toasted at
the same time. If there is such a contradictory thing as a hard, practical idealistic
dreamer, it's your Aries child. He's as naive as he is tough; as gentle as he is pushy. All these conflicting traits are woven into his fiery little nature. You'll marvel at it
and wonder about it. So will your friends later on, not to mention his boss, his future enemies and the unsuspecting soul he marries.
Aries children will take the lead with playmates, start new games and invent new
ideas for the gang. They'll insist on having their own way or butt their heads against
authority, so you'd better decide to set down some firm rules in the beginning. The
Aries child who isn't trained to obey in his youth will be taught some crushing
lessons in maturity. Remember that his heart is as soft as butter, and it hides deep- seated fears of being disliked and unloved, despite his brave front. Rejection of his bright dreams or dampening of his exciting enthusiasm will send him running home
to you in tragic tears. Hold him very close when this happens. His heart will be broken. For all his rash domineering ways, the Aries idealism is sensitive and it bruises with the slightest bump. He'll be getting plenty of - those bumps on his naive, hope-filled optimism during his lifetime, and he needs more protection against them than you might think.
He believes in fairy godmothers with magic wands, and giants who can topple over
whole cities with one sweep of a powerful hand. Unfortunately, Aries children
naively identify with these two omnipotent types. When they discover that there are
giant killers out there in the brutal world-and blunt realists, who can make those
magic wands pathetically impotent, they'll take some hard tumbles. But they'll get back up, brush themselves off, and push forward again indefinitely. They'll teach
that dull, unimaginative old world a thing or two! There may be a few sears before
it's over, but don't count your Mars child out of the fight, no matter how many times he's knocked down. Wait for him to holler "Uncle." You may have a long wait.
Hide birthday presents in a safe place. Hell be impatient, and unwilling to wait for
surprises. Don't destroy his faith in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny too soon. To
first believe fiercely, and then leam not to believe, toughens his emotions. It's a
necessary lesson. His allowance will burn a hole right through his pocket, but he'll
cheerfully give you his last dime for the milkman. Your Aries daughter may pay the neighborhood bullies a nickel a day to stop stepping on ants. An Aries child handled
harshly in the impressionable years can show a defensive cruel streak, but guided
gently and wisely, he'll insist on his rights with less force, and show a gigantic
generosity and sympathy for his fellow man. Don't give him orders, always ask him to do things with a cheerful smile, and he'll knock himself out to please you. Never
destroy his confidence. It's as important to him as the air he breathes. He may run away from home; the Mars independence shows early, but he'll come back wiser.
Teach him that it's unkind to dominate meeker youngsters. He truly does not want to be unkind.
Being around cold, negative people can wound him deeply, but nothing will ever
break his spirit. (Remember the diamond.) He'll probably be wild about books and
be an excellent reader, yet he may not be anxious to settle down to four years of
college. Aries is too interested in getting into the action of chopping down all those
challenging beanstalks. But don't give up too quickly. He can use the additional
discipline of higher education to help his mind catch up with his flaming emotions
and sudden, puzzling bursts of sharp intuition. The more he balks at the idea of a
rigid scholastic schedule and prefers the freedom of trying out a few jobs, the more you can be sure he needs the schedule.
He'll have to leam responsibility, but you'll teach him this and other things faster
through direct logic and honest affection. Both appeal to him. Parents and teachers should never forget that Aries children glow under praise and doggedly proceed to
top their own efforts, but they sputter like firecrackers under attack and lose all
incentive to try. Tell him what you like about him, and he'll do less that you don't like. Aries youngsters live up to exactly what's expected of them, including those
who hide their burning drive under a calmer personality. This child must always be
kept busy, or hell wander into trouble. Idleness spells danger. He needs stacks of sleep to renew all that scattered, misplaced energy.
Hell love stories about brave, shining heroes who conquered new worlds. But he
also believes in leprechauns and wishing wells, and he'll continue to believe in them
long after you've bronzed those little Aries baby shoes and welcomed the first
grandchild. If you lead your Mars child gently, with constant love, he'll grow up with the wonderful power to dream the impossible dream-and make it come true.
