Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1919-09-07

TNERY parent knows how hard 1t Is to
arouse the interest of child in mat
tiers Of personal hygiene and even
when the interest Is aroused how hard it
is to keep the attention from wandering
from the lesson. Furthermore rarely does
the lesson seem to stick. 1t goes "in one
ear and out Of the other" and constant
repetition is necessary before it can be
successfully hammered into the youthful
mind
Little Johnny hasn't the same feeling
about dirty hands and face that his parents
have. He likes the water at the seashore
or the pond or down in the creek, but at
The best he only tolerates 1t from the faucet
and the wash basin. Little Jennie, of
course, is different. She likes to be clean.
as rule, but she can go little Johnny one
better when ii comes to Directing to eating
things that are good for her but that she
does not like
How properly to impress upon the child
the necessity for brushing his or her teeth
every morning and after each meal The
reasons 1or scientific use of soap and water
how to eat properly-and this does not
mean politely, but in the way 10 Get the
best out of what they arc eating-and al,
these dozens of very essential things for
It's future welfare and happiness. have
driven many mother almost to distrac.
tion -. l..
THE children seem TO forget everything
4 say" complains one
i have to keep repeating the same thing
all the time" mournS another
And yet the boy who can listen to n use
ful lecture and not retain the slightest
recollection Of what he has heard three
hours later, can go to a circus. see a clown
and a month after detail with absolute
hde!ity every grimace and gesture and
prank that he has seen
Why did the child forge, the lesson and
remember the clown?
Why was he indifferent or averse to
making the necessary hygienic gestures oP
cleanliness. but eagerly reproduced the
comlca! antics, more hard In themselves OF
me clown? IT cannot be laziness- because
the muscular effort of the latter was far
greater than that OF the former
psychology gave the answer that undar
the stimulus OF acute interest the clowns
gestures were automatically and firmly
stamped upon tho plastic mind whereas
arouse interest, was promptly forgotten.
TINS being so. the New York Academy
or Medicine, the Representative body ~
New York physicians and surgeons. acting
IN cooperation with the Child Health or
ganization, recently decided 10 try the OK.
pertinent OF combining clown and health
lessons 10 see whether the clown interest
would be strong enough TO impress the use.
Ful as well as the useless upon the childish
mini. In other words, whether sugar.
coating the pill would work equally as Vel,
for the Juvenile brain as it does for tho
Juvenile stomach. o
The experiment has been such n euccoc,
that other cities have sent 10 New Yor), for
full details of the plan, and health.te;cbinr
clowns will soon be seen throushout tho
country. '''o
The premier clown teacher In Eou, Vol,
is named Cho-Cho-his name being ,aEnn
from the initials OF the Child Health Orran'
1zation which conceived the scheme w..
Che. with his clown costume and his cIo,vn
antics, has visited Newport, Atlantic on
Washington and New jersey towns near
New York. Secretary OF the Interior ano
attended his lectures in WASHINGTON and
enjoyed them. an"
AT Cho-Cho's recent appearance in <ow
York 1.5OO children shouted thcir inv, y,
sight OF him and their hearty approba,ion
OF his remarks. REPORTS from parents no