The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1914-12-26
Laziness In Children
Is Unnatural.
The Normal Instincts Are For
Activity, but Energies Are /
Sometimes Misdirected.

II - -
MI about the lazy child, and,
many reasons are advanced}
EyEcA for his lack OF activity. Butt
Ss specialists who have devoted
several years of study to the problem
agree that 1t is impossible for healthy
child TO be lazy. Ratheri It Is the irre- .
sistible impulse to be up and doing that
makes the healthy child SO much Of q,
nuisance to the people who wish to
have everything quiet and orderly"
The first thing to do when q child
shows SYMPTOMS of "laslness' is to
i have him examined by competent
/ physician. In nine cases out VI ten IL
VIII be found that the cause of Juvenile \
Inactivity Is impaired health. IL not
actual disease. This is especially true
in the case Of your children When the
/ child sits or lies about without caring
to do anything, without even getting
into mischief. there Is generally sor1a-
/ thing wrong & *rt
4 On the other hand, there are older \
4 children who are pictures OF health
& and at the same tim lazy enough 70.
exasperate their parents and teachers.
When Il baa been made sure that the
picture Of health Is not deceptive APP
pesfance, IL IL time TO look for ether
: causes, and not tin then. Judging from
:, the experience OF the schools, there are
lazy children who have good health
But the usual attitude toward indiffer-
ence TO work is hardly effective i'm
making children get over it. To scold
and to drive may help in getting par
ticular task finished, but Is not very
7 helpful in establishing habits of indus
try. And that Ia the whole problem, in
most cases--to establish habits 81 in
dustry. & e}st
, Natural Instincts For Activity.
t BY nature the child adapts himself
. very readily to the establishment Of
D sach habits, In the first place there
are the Instincts FOR activity. the rative
I curiosity and the imltativeness. And
> IN the next place Ia tn ease with which
repeated acts become organized into
Q habits. Gould anything be easier than
!, making a child get into the habit OK
= doing something all Of his waking
n timer sv 9ye u
: But children do certainly grow up
4 lazy" SO what can be the trouble
:. II IN certain that there cannot be any
thing wrong with his muscles. for eK-
ample, because the amount OF energy
that, child puts into his play after
he Is, all tired out by his work" liz
enough TO do, his required work sew
erai times over.
And that ought to give clew. The
energy that is expended in play has
meaning to the child: too often tho
energy required Of him In work.
whether IL is home work or school
swork or work that earns noncy~--iaaj
no meaning 20 him whatever In other
words, whore there are interest and en-
thusiasm there are effort and exertion:
where there ia indifference or repug-
nance there nre lethargy and Incidence.
Chlldten will acquire habits OF indus
try only when they have practice In en-
ertirg themselves with purpose and on
tffusiasni. esa s8
Interest Brings Willingness.
But children cannot be allowed play
all the time; II is necessary to study
sometimes. and to do other things tlsek
ara not very pleasant In themselves.
But II has been found possible to or
gariise study and other necessary work
in such way as to get the children
to do 1t chesrfully and effectively ana
50 form the habit OF doing what xuuat
no gone WITHOUT EHfhiub anu UitIOuR
complaining sN
70 some people this would seem to
be -denoraliging. but experience shows
that work done under, conditions that
arouse interest is as valuable, at least
for discipline" as work done under
cofnpulson. For children can ccr-
talnly learn the various processes in.
volved in the handling Of tools. for ex-
ample by making things In which they
are interested: and they can az easily
acquire skill in such work as in mo-
notonous tasks. But the "morala habit
OF application to the disagreeabie for
the purpose of carrying out more re-
mote end, which Is the essential thina
in what We call discipline" has bs4n
successfully dBveloped by parents and
teachers who have known how to tn
terest children In leading them frogs
play to work. sAs
II is the children who have been
driven to do the unpleasant thiaEu
that have no meaning in them that re-
sort to "laziness' "a the only eScnpe
from the dissgreeable tasks. Thsy
have never learned 90 be Interested
ejther in the work itself or in tho wofk
sa a means TO something desirable that
lshould crown all labor They have 40"
lduired lszIneEs because their impulses
TO activity had been thvsrtsd by aSse-
citation with stupid. monotoncu1 IA
tiguing effort.
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