Los Angeles herald., 1910-07-31

lege of OsteOpathy.
For the most part the real personal
ity of any person, the thing which is
called character, the peculiarities by
which he is recognized by his friends,
Is merely matter of habits From his
infancy he is forming habits which
modify his daily actions. Through all
his life he makes and modiies habits.
Habits are formed by repeating any
action IF anyone constantly performs
any action he soon finds that 1t vir-
tually does itself; that is, his muscles
perform that action without his being
conscious of it's being done. If the
action is an admirable one, then he
has gained in ease and comfort and
value of living; If the action is blame
worthy then he has taken upon him
self a burden which may interfere to
a considerable degree with his useful
piness in the world and with his hap
piness in life. In both cases the habit
is the result of the constantly re-
peated action.
The formation of right habits, then,
is really the most important thing
which teachers and parents can con-
slider. For only right habits of living
can secure physical comfort, only right
habits of dealing with other people
can secure social pleasure, only right
habits of thinking can secure for any
and usefulness in life.
The formation of right habits of llv-
ing can be begun very early in life
Regular hours of feeding and bathing
and sleeping are very good habits for
the little baby, and these begin good
habits for later life. The habit of
self reliance is begun also during in
fancy. The child whose attention is
constantly compelled by the efforts of
naOn1n tho child nnnSfanflN
amused and stimulated by talk-even
baby talk-the child which is being
always compelled to smile, to try to
sit up or walk or talk, such a child
is forming habits of dependence and
unrest. On the other hand, the baby
which is left to laugh or Sleep to coo
and play alone for considerable time
each day. with only the efficient and
careful watchfulness which attracts
the childs attention not at all, is
forming habits of self amusement and
self reliance which will affect his life
as long as he has life. Later, the
same principle holds good. The chill
dren who are provided with complex
and elaborate toys are those not usual
ly happy The children who have only
simple toys, toys whose value lies in
the imagination of their owners, arc
developing the imagination in a way
that will add to their happiness during
all their l1VeS
The same thing is true of neatness,
of personal cleanliness and politeness.
The child who is told how to behave,
but is rude at home, is sure to dis
grace his teaching. The thing to be
done is to compel the daily politenesses
which are of value in after life. 1t is
not enough that a child really has re-
spect for his elders; If he is to retain
that respect he must be taught to give
the courtesies which Indicate respect.
For the habit of demeanor, the per-
formance or neglect of the courtesies,
habit of mind While I should be
very sorry to see the stilted and
meaningless ceremonies of a hundred
years ago reinstated in our daily life,
yet l am sure that more attention to
the little courtesies would add a valu-
able sweetness to the thought we have
of one another. 1t is not altogether
true that we are good to people be-
cause we like them; 1t is more true
that we like people because we are
kind to them. So, in order that q
habit of kindness may be formed it is
good to make the child act with kind
ness. And this may be done long be-
fore he is old enough to know any
thing about liking or disliking. A
mere baby may learn to greet with
smiles or with blows or with whining
and begging.
The formation of habits may de-
pand largely upon merely imaginary
circumstances. Especially after a child
has begun to read intelligently he
forms many habits of thinking which
modify his whole life. One child lives