The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-10-17
YOUR CHILDREN 1. By oIrs Robsrts Bsrtee 2
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cURfNG nAzINEss.

I.aziness---what is it7 It is class cd with the cardinal sins and he who is lazy is thus doubly cursed.
 Whenever I hear a mother say her boy or girl is lazy, instantly I prick lup my ears. I let her ex- plain just how he is 80 obsessed but it is seldom I am interested in the fact itself.
 What I try to fathom Is the req son. There is many Q reason be- hind laziness. To get at the right one is always a hard thing to do.
 4 normal, well child. a happy child, is never lazy. Never!
 He may have an easy-going dis position and a deliberateness of ac- fion, but this is nothing to censure. Rather 1t is to be envied, for 1t shows an even distribution of en- ergy. It is not laziness.
 One time I had boy in school who was known to be lazy. His teachers had so dubbed him, his mother was impatient. his father disgusted.
 Curing by Rest and Diet.
 I called his mother to school. The principal was present. I said, ssThe boy is sick. He is the queer- est shade of greenish gray I've seen. His jaw hangs and his eyes are dull. Look at his dropped shoulders. Take him out of school, let him play outdoors in the sun, give him a lot of milk and nour- ishing food"
 Cod-iiver oil was not then known as ubfquitously as it now is. It was considered a dose for infants. Its therapeutic qualities for older chill drer were not known.
 They did as said. He got a little better, but not much. The truth is today known. Such a child needs instant scientific treatment. He has lost the ability to derive certain neded substances from his food for some reason or other. Doctors have discovered ways of slowly restoring to the blood the power to assimilate and deposit nourishment in the tissues. When it is a chronic case, mere food and sun will not do it alone.
 :. The lazy child is very often this kind C "fatigued" child. A doctor only needs to take one glance today to diagnose such a case. If you suspect one of your children to be in danger of this condition have a doctor examine him at once, particularly if he is losing weight.
 Occasionally we discover thyroid trouble in children. No mother can tell if this is the case, but a doctor can determine it rather quickly can determine it rather quickly after an examination. How ever, great deal of so-called laziness in adults is due to inactive thyroid gland.
 Infection May Cause sLaziness''
 Another cause of "laziness" is some infection somewhere that is seeping pus into the blood stream. Maybe tonsilsl adenoids, sinus, teeth, ears, or dear knows what. There is no laziness or weariness I know of as wretched as that caused of such infection. Except perhaps auto-intoxication, chiefly from neglected bowels, where poi son is absorbed into the blood. It incapacitates either child or adult as completely as a deadly drug.
 Of course all laziness is not a result of physical condition.
 A child who is not happy in his home or school life, or who is shy, afraid of people, sensitive, or dis couraged, often seeks his "escapes." He tries to forget real things. He likes to day-dreaIn and lie about and build castles in the air. He may like to lie on the floor and kick up his heels and stare at the ceiling and do nothing. He may even become Obsessiye enough to want to sleep all the time.
 Not bodily sickness, this. Just miserable soul-sickness. Such a