Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-03-07
chILDREN,s EYES.
How We Injure the sight OF Our Lit


How We Injure the sight OF Our Lis-
tie Ones.
"a child's eyes are farsighted, ard 4,
Is only for few moments that II
should look at anything nearer than
seventy-one yards" says Harvey Suth.
erland In Ainslee's. "And yet from
the time II begins to take notice we
are forever trying to get 1t to see things
close to 1t, playthings, our own foolish
faces and don't know what not The
day after II is weaned we start an 70
teach II to read. AS soon as ever we
can we pack 1t of to kindergarten
there to be instructed In the health Civ.
Ing arts OF braiding colored paper and
working at such tasks as would make
grown persons eyes ache. Then we
send 1t to public school.
have seen public school buildings In
New York city that the builder ought
to so to state prison for-dark, insan-
itary holes We put the child in the
public school and tell Il 10 sit right
still with its nose In a book and be nice
ana not make noise, when we know
that Its nature clamors to run and play
ana jump and halloo so as to grow mn
10 be made Of meat and not OF putty.
In some public schools the great truth
that play Is wicked waste OF time has
been recognized to the extent OF abol.
isning even the stingy fifteen minutes
recess doIed out In most instances
When there are Fairgrounds. they are
neatly paved with artificial stone and
almost big enough to swing cat In.
Sometimes the playroom is In a nice
dark cellar, where the toilet room is.
But the child may play after school
hours. Oh. bless your heart, we have
liked that all rfght-home work. We
give them home work to addIe their
brains over by artificial light. And if
the child Is girl we plan how we can
make her suffer the most prolonged
agony possible In her adult life. We
choose the critical time and set her at
the piano. Paper can be cut to play
better than she ever viii, but that isn't
1t We want to come as near as pos
sible to killing her without actually
doing so. No. your hour isn't I'D yet,
Dorothy. You march, right back and
don't you come out OF that parlor
agnin till you have practiced a full
hour. Do you hear me2
I'VE Keep the poor little things mn
TIL all hours, excite them with novels
and theaters. feed them on stimulat-
Ing and relatively nutritious foods
and encourage them to poison them
selves with candy. crunched and gulp-
ed down before the cane sugar has
been digested in the mouth. We give
them coffee and tea to set their nerves
on twittcr. Good Lord, what don't
we do to kill them? We act like a
pack OF fools. we parents, and IL any
of our young ones live to be twenty.
are tolerably sound OF mind, aren't
sick more than half the time and have
at least seven teeth that don't ache IL
Is more by good luck than good judy
ment. Is 1t any wonder that the eyes
suffer along with the rest OF the bodyf
"But most OF all II is the crazy no.
ton that the child's mind is developed
by reading that is TO blame for what
we call the degeneracy of the eve.
Observing and comparing are what de-
velop the mind. but you can't beat that
Into teachers head One of them
told me the other day how much bet
ter the schools were In Germany than
In this country. Little children there.
she said. do sums In long division
much faster than American children.
1 wanted to shake her. They keep the
German children In school almost all
the waking day, and the barbarous
type they print books In increases the
from 20 per cent in
the lower grades to 60 and even 20 per
cent In the upper grades. No wonder
Germans are so prone to suicider'