The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-09-25
Interesting
Games and Exercises

nHYSICIANS everywhere agree that
l. outdoor air is the sovereign pana-
ces for ali ailments, and this is one
Of The reasons why children should be
allowed TO spend the greater part OF
their time in the summer outdoors in
the sunshine and fill their lungs with
pure air
The little people need TO be developed
and outdoors is where this should take
place Each organ must be kept in
condition and the children should be
allowed sufficient exercise TO allow them
10 grow up healthy and strong for
their fight with the world.
A little walk in the park is not suffi-
cient 10 bring the bloom TO the cheek of
a child; II must be allowed 10 play out
doors with other children, romp in the
dirt with a good bath TO follow. Many
city children need the country, or, if
this is not possible. the parents should
select a home where they have a
spacious yard. that the children may
play to their hearts content. On the
other hand il can not be expected that
me children can remain in the yard
and play all day long if they do not
have some kind of amusement. Many
games must be provided. and with
these as aids the mother viii not have
TO spend much Of her time in looking
after the children.
few of the best games for children
are croouet. seesaw and the tag
you're il" games. Many of these games
teach poise Of body and accuracy OF
aim and develop the spirit of competi-
tion among the little people Quoits
is an interesting game and can be
played with small wooden rings ana
q peg driven into the ground, while
the system of keeping the score can
be arranged by the children themselves
Seesaw is so old that il needs no eN-
Rlanation. ,..,
dren and many of them develop much
skill in handling the mallet. Any small
ward will answer for a court and the
arches can be arranged to suit the llt-
tie players. who often construct their
own rules The seesaW is a splendid
amusement for children, and the new
models are only slightly changed from
those used years ago. The new ones
do away with the danger and are con-
structed on lines similar to those OF
the rocking horse.
For families who go to the seashore
or 10 the lakes during the summer and
autumn, swimming should be taught
the children. This is one of the best
exercises for little ones, developing
each muscle and allowing them to be-
come strong and healthy. The matter
of teaching swimming TO children has
been taken up seriously in several
Of the larger city schools and every
child should learn to swim. The chill
dren take the lessons as a pleasure and
in many cases IL is self-taugbt. For
children IL is best to give them their
first lessons with the swimming bags,
which it under their shoulders like
a pair Of wings. and minimize the dan
ger. These bags give much aid to
the beginner and under the direction
Of the parent or teacher the child will
learn rapidly once swimming is
taught a child. he will never forget
ii. although years may pass from one
swimming season 10 another. There
is no telling at what time in the child's
life his lessons may be useful: thus
the earlier they are taught the art the
better IL is for their future safety