Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1905-12-28
flU W TO KEE SIK{J,y9.

May many parents and guardians eFen their eyes totay to the vital
 needs Of the children under their care, and, realizing the needs. bend
 their best ener2ies toward filling them, fer money it not the very best Ie@acE M oIa leayo to on little ones -Iho0sh il k -ool when not abns- ed and mjsused.
 First and last. the child's physical training depends upon the parents, for they must lay the foundation, and i3e character of the physical struc- lure as well as the mental and moral depends largely upon the foundations I3ld by hem during the first few Neala q the little ones life.
 Naturally this involves study. Is a green hand 10 be trusted to care for. clean or run an engine? The skilled engineer thoroughly understands his huge nEachine, Nnows every bolt and screw and loves every inch of the powerful iron monster, feeds it. watches il, guides il. drives it. holds # back as he wills, CT with his b9nd 7lpon the throbbing heart gently calls il 10 a stand Surely his 6Howlaage dia nel come to him suddenly. He 55szf 10 study his eng ne before he aftemPtea to drive t and Re never ceases ta study it aaf1 case for it as 19ne as He is it's master.
 Just % tie parents should study the child, for the old idea that God siFen Knowledge is born in the moth CT With the advent of he little enc is far from the truth. We src inform ed thai parental ignorance IS the a;l- 1hor q! 59 per aeut of the deformities chat afIiict Ihe human race; with the best inteetions in the world We clog the delicate achinery of the lit tie ones digestive tract with food un- 1t for childhood while We wrap the sse!icdaa and sensitive little bodies ill clothes too heavy or too light, and men possibly ale grieved because we feel forced 10 punish then4 for what #e think Is mere fretfalness and un- reasonable crGssness.
 Mothers, let me ask you but one question here-if you are troubled with a jumping corn (even on ycEr mallest toel, are you as sweet tenn tered and good-natEred as you might Ea ii that corn were not there?
 Too often it is, as Dr. Oppenhein. says: "A child is thought well fed if Ee does not starve-and well cloth ed if he does not freeze"
 How many mothers understand the physical needs of their little ones? Children differ from adults in both and anatomical nake- up, and the important work Of the child lies in growing, in developing it's physical side.
 To grow strong and stra ght; to se- cure a straight spine, strong limbs, good chest, sound lungs and digestion, l clear mind and good nervous con- is plainly the child's first duty, but in this day of ambitious parents, precocious children and over full school curriculums how few of our little people are given a fair chance to perform this all-important duty?
 The child needs at this per'od of it's life air and activity, but too often gets instead long hours of study, in I close and crowded school room With poor light and ill-ftting desk 1rd seat-and here it proceeds rapid y to acquire with the knowledge of the three Rs" a deformed spine ,rd injured vision and lays the found ltion for future nervous prostration.
 And the mother-does she watch he little back-is she quick to note he first sign of an ugly curve? She is the child's home physical train ar, but what is she doing for her title one?
 Does she see that the little daugh- CT is sent to bed at regular hour ach night, that she rises at a regular aour also daily?
 Does she see to it that the child sorms the habit of sleeping in a we'll aired room? Does she look into the natter of it's dress from hygien;c Is she insistent upon he care of the teeth. skin and hair?