Why Should Children Be Encouraged to Work?
By D. H. Kress, M.D.
AMONG the ancient Hebrews every child was expected to learn a trade so as not to be a dependent in after life. This developed a practical class of men and women. The physical toil proved a blessing also in mental culture. Institutions of learning are beginning to see the need of having physical exercise as an aid to mental development. They have encouraged foot-ball, bicycle riding, the gymnasium, etc. I have no hesitancy in saying that the harm that has resulted from these overbalances in many instances the good derived from them. The greatest danger in the various games, the gymnasium, and the bicycle, is in overexertion. Lifting heavy weights and swinging on bars or rings, tax the muscles so severely that they may be injured beyond repair. The constant or excessive use of any one muscle or set of muscles to the exclusion of others results in injury. The muscles thus used, instead of being strengthened, are weakened, and will soon wear out. The crooked legs and hard, contracted muscles of the stage horse demonstrate this. If the brain is confined to close thought or study, and the physical powers are allowed to remain inactive, the muscles become weak, while the brain wears out. There are many extremists, one-idea men, or monomaniacs. This is due to the concentration of the mind upon one subject. A certain portion of the brain is overworked, while the rest is permitted to be inactive. In order to have health in its fulness, all the faculties of mind and body must be cultivated. No mode of exercise can take the place of useful labor or walking in the open air. The farmer and the gardener have exercises which are the most beneficial, all the muscles being brought into use. But work must not be looked upon as drudgery. It must be taken up with cheerfulness, just as boys engage in the playing of ball. When the muscles are inactive, the blood does not circulate freely. The impurities or wastes are not expelled. The accumulation of impurities in the system not only causes feelings of physical feebleness and is responsible for physical diseases, but it also causes a depraved condition of the brain, leading to impure thoughts and acts. This was the cause of the licentious condition of Sodom. "Fulness of bread and abundance of idleness was in her and in her daughters." The girls found walking the streets of our large cities, trying to gain a livelihood without working, are girls who have been reared in idleness in nearly every case. They are girls who have no aim in life beyond dress and appearance. By tracing back the history of these poor unfortunates, we find that in their homes pride was encouraged, and they were allowed to eat and drink as they pleased, controlled by appetite instead of principle. Doing a little fancy work or playing the piano was all they were expected to do, while mother did the cooking, the housework, and so-called drudgery. This is the surest way for mothers to ruin their daughters. Hard work and some definite aim in life, simple foods, and God's blessing are the surest protectors against a life of immorality. The only way to save children from lives of shame and crime is by avoiding the causes which lead to such a life. Women who have not been taught to work, when thrown on their own resources, find themselves helpless as babes. The question then arises, "What shall I do?" There may be no disposition to work, or there may be a desire without the ability, or the know-how to. Never should a girl be compelled to go out into the world in this way. Every girl should master some one thing at least by which she may earn an honest living, in addition to a thorö knowledge of general housekeeping. Sometimes we hear some unfortunate young woman say, "If I were only a man" — but if they were men, and faced the world as poorly equipped for practical life, the result would be the same. The power to work is one of God's special gifts to mankind, and this power was given alike to men and women. Workers are in demand everywhere, — idlers nowhere. It is the duty of parents to make the work attractive and to encourage children from earliest infancy to take pleasure in doing things about the house, little tho the tasks may be. The time thus spent by the mother will never be regretted. Air in motion purifies itself. It is the standing pool that becomes filled with filth, germs, and slime. The water of a flowing stream keeps free from impurities. The inactive horse soon becomes short-winded and worthless. Perfect health depends on perfect circulation, and perfect circulation of the blood is impossible without exercise. None are so happy and healthful as those who are always busy, cheerfully going about their daily work, not scheming to do as little as possible, but seeing how much they can do to lighten the burdens of others. Labor performed in this way "doeth good like a medicine."