PICKED UP | AdventAI

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, Cal. · Jul 22, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 28.

PICKED UP.

I WANT to say a word about nervous children. Never scold or make fun of them. They suffer enough without your threats or sarcasm. Don't let them know you see their awkwardness when in company, nor their grimaces when alone. A case was reported by the Boston Globe, of a boy ten years old who, on being vexed, and often without any apparent provocation, will clench his hands and make the most frightful contortions of the muscles of his face and head, till his poor mother fears he is idiotic. By no means. He is the brightest boy in his class at school, fond of reading and of natural history, but he is of a highly nervous temperament, and has not been taught to control the little wires, so to speak, on which he is strung. This is no single case. There are thousands of children who give way to their nerves in similar fashion. Never whip them, but talk to them about these curious little strings that should be made their servants, not their masters. A prominent physician in this city says the man or woman who whips a nervous child should for every blow given receive five, and is on a level with brutes that have no reason. It is our duty to encourage and help them. Be patient with them. They are the making of our future successful men and women, for they will work hard at whatever they undertake. Brace up your own nerves first, and then be indulgent toward the capers of your over-nervous children.—Christian Union.