The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1890-10-09
LITTLE FOLKs's APPETITEs.
A Good Nourishing Breakfast Necessary
for IL ChiId's Perfect Health While At
tending to School.
BRooKLYN, \. Y, Sept. l9, 1890.

BROOKLYN, y. Y, Sept. 10, 1890.
Nothing can be more distressing tc
one whose experience enables her to
sympathize with just such cases, than
the letters constantly received asking
for advice in such an instance as the
following:
"a bright, energetic and ambitious
child is eager to attend school regular
ly, but is lacking in physical stamina.
No persuasion can induce him to eat
any breakfast, and he has very little ap-
petite for his other meals. His sleep Is
broken and ne has no strength for the
ordinary plays of children. Medicine
seems to be of no avail"
If the school which this child at
tends keeps him in an ill-yentilated
room for nearly six hours day-which
is quite likely to 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 il such a
way as to restrict the action Of heart,
lungs and stomach, or if his school
work IS Of such 8 nature as to worry
him, it is 20 wonder that his sleep is
disturbed, his appetite lacking and his
general condition one to excite alarm
There are but two courses open to
the parents OF sucn child-either to
allow him to remain IN school and
take the inevitable 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 feel inclined, 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 they occupy, the attitudes they
adopt-in short, whether the teacher is
competent or not for the sacred work
entrusted to her. The lack of the great
majority of our schools to-day is the
regard of the simplest hygienic laws in
relation to the growing child, and un-
til 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 is based.
I hope I shall not seem lacking in
sympathy to those who have asked me
for special advice in special cases, by
this condemnatory generalization. I
should not allow weak, nervous
child to attend school except under
conditions of my own making. The
education that is gained bv the de-
struction of health is of no use. sup
pose that half of the children that fill
our great American schools leave their
homes in the morning without hav-
ing eaten a morsel of breakfast. No
child of mine should 60 breakfastless
to school. DR.. Abennethy is credited
with the following remark upon this
subject: "An empty stomach is play
house for the devil" and be was about
right. When the nerves are compelled
to perform the whole work of the body,
the waste of vital force is prodigious.
A good nourishing breakfast is abso-
Iutely necessary and the parent who
allows her children to attend long
school session without such a prep
aration is doing very foolish and
very wicked thing. The principal Of
one of our most efficient public schools
once told me that she had taken the
most unwearied pains to inform her
self 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 suf-
ferers.
One mother writes me that her little
girl, 10 years old, would willingly eat
her breakfast every morning if she
were allowed to have coffee with it,
but the child is extremely nervous and
she dare not give it to her. I should
reason quite differently. I should tell
myself that like most everything else
in the world, this was achoice OF evils,
and the greater evil would be to per-
NIT my daughter to go to school with
out 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 breakfast Of
a delicate child. It is the most i'm
portant meal of the day and it is far
better to make coffee concession than |
to turn the little stomach into the kind |
of playhouse described by the wise old !
Abennethy.
There Is sucn an Infinite variety Of |
good cereals to choose from that with |
a little care many apetizing dishes can !!
be prepared for the breakfasts of our
school children. Cream and maple |
syrup are generally liked by young
folks and bit of steak or chop tempt
ingly prepared will often be enjoyed if !
there is a muffin or griddle cake to !
stop off with" In conclusion let me
say that I have the very best medical
authority for the assertion that the
child who habitually goes to school
without his breakfast is in a condition |
to oinvite any disease that may be about,