The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-09-21
Some Suggestions That May be o
Pene fit to Parents.

Some Suggestions That May be OF
Renefit to Parents.
BROOKLYN, N. Y, Sept. 2O.-Nothing
can be more distressing to one whose ex-
perience enables her to sympathize with lust
such cases, than the letters constantly re-
ceived asking for advice in such an instance
as the following:
bright, energetic and ambitious child is
eager TO attend scaool reg ularly, but is lack
ing in physical stamina No persuasion can
induce MIN to eat any breakfast, and he has
very little appetite for his other meals. His
sleep is broken and he has no strength for
the ordinary plays of children Medicine
seems to be Of no avail. IL the school
which this child attends keeps him
in an ill ventilated room for nearly
six hours day-which Is quite likely 10 be
the case-if he is kept during portion of
that time with folded arms, or what is even
worse, bent double over his desk In such a
way as to restrict the action OF heart, lungs
and stomach, or If his school work is of
| such nature as to worry him, it Is no wonder
that his sleep is disturbed, his appetite lack
| ing, and his general condition one TO excite
alarm. There are but two courses open to
| the parents of such child, either to allow
| him to remain In school and take the in
| evitable consequences or to keep him at
home and rely upon fresh air, exercise, and
| tranquility Of mind to effect a cure. But
| the day Is surely coming when fathers and
mothers will either be compelled, or Re 81
| incined-let us hope it may be the
| latter-to take some interest in
| the schools to which they send
| their children, to know the sort of air they
breathe, the sort of seats which they occu-
Ply, the attitudes they adopt-in short,
whether the teacher is competent or not
| for the sacred work intrusted to her. The
| great lack of the majority of our schools to-
| day is the regard of the simplest hygienic
laws in relation to the growing child, and
until something is done toward reform in
this direction, much of the brightness,
energy and ambition of our American
children will count for little, owing to the
imperfect physical foundation on which it
Ii. based.
i hope | shall not seem lacking In sympa-
thy to those who have asked me for special
advice In special cases by this condemna-
tory generalization. l should not allow a
weak, nervous child to attend school ex-
cept under conditions of my own making
The education that is gained by the destruc-
ton OF health is of no use. 1 sup
pose that half Of the children that fill our
great American schools leave their homes
in the morning without having eaten a NOR
sci of breakfast. No child of mine should
go breakfastless to school. DR.. Abennethy
is credited with the following remark upon
this subject; IAN empty stomach is
play house for the devil" and he
was about right. When the
nerves are compelled to perform the
whole work of the body, the waste Of vital
force is prodigous. A good nourishing
breakfast is absolutely necessary, and the
parent who allows her children TO attend a
long school session without such prepare
ton is doing very foolish and a very
wicked thing. The principal of one or our
most efficient public schools once told me
that she had taken the most unwearied pains
TO inform herself concerning contagious
diseases, and had found that the children
who had no appetite for breakfast and
brought cake and jam for their luncheons
were always the first TO succumb, and
formed the great majority of the sufferers
One mother writes me chat her little girl,
TO years old, would willingly eat her break
fast every morning IL she were allowed to
have coffee with it, but the child is ex-
tremely nervous and she dare not give IL to
her. ! should reason quite differently. |
should tell myself that, like most everything
else in the world, this was a choice Of two
evils. and the greater evil would be 10 permit
my daughter to go to school without her
breakfast. So she would have the coffee,
not very much nor very strong. but enough,
and good enough for the purpose. There
should be no cast iron rules about the break
fast OF delicate child. 1t is the most i'm
portant meal Of the day, and it is far better
20 make coffee concession than to turn the
little stomach into the kind of playhouse
de, cribed by the wise old Abenuethy.
There is such an infinite variety Of good
cereals to choose from, that with a little
caro- many appetzing dishes can be pre-
pared for the breakfasts of our school
children. Cream and maple syrup are
generally liked by young folks, and bit of
steak or chop temptingly prepared will
often be enjoyed if there is muffin or
griddle cake TO stop off with" In conclu-
sion, let me say that / have the very best
medical authority for the assertion that the
child who habitually goes to school without
his breakfast is in condition to invite any
disease that may be about, or to develop
the most aggravating and dangerous sort
of nervous disorders. Let us have educa-
ton by all means, but let us remember that
healthy minds are impossible without
healthy bodies. ELEANOR KIRK.