Childhood and growth : a paper read October 6th, 1905, before the New Haven Mother's Club

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CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

A PAPER READ OCTOBER 6TH, 1905, BEFORE
THE NEW HAVEN MOTHERS' CLUB

BY
LAFAYETTE B. MENDEL

PROFESSOR OF PHYSIOLOGICAL CHEMISTRY IN THE SHEFFIELD

SCIENTIFIC SCHOOL OF YALE UNIVERSITY

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

WITH AN INTRODUCTION

HORACE FLETCHER

^OFTHfc ^

UNIVERSITY

NEW YORK

THE FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY

MCMVI

4

f%'

Copyright, igos
By Horace Fletcher

THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A.

UNIVERSITY I

Editor s Preface

IN searching for physiological wisdom
relative to the growth and care of
children^ I was greatly interested in
securing this paper^ which Professor
Lafayette B. Mendel of the Sheffield
Scientific School of Tale University pre-
pared for and read before the Mothers'
Club of New Haven^ Connecticut y in
October last.

It is by an eminently careful phys-
iologist whose specialty tends towards
the chemical side of the science ^ and who
is unprejudiced either by parentage or
tradition in his estimate of the subject
of Childhood and Growth.

JG2829

EDITOR'S PREFACE

No other introduction is necessary to
a presentation so clear and fascinating
as this is.

I have begged the privilege of present-
ing this charming essay to the public
in its present form,

HORACE FLETCHER.

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

^ OF THE ^

Childhood and Growth

Jl HE problems which confront the
mothers of young children are es-
sentially physiological in character.
The infant enters the world in an
extremely helpless condition, without
adequate control of its muscles and
with most imperfect organs of sense.
It is deprived of the assistance and
experience which we derive from
these important groups of organs in
our contact with the things about us.
Aside from what is acquired through
the senses of taste and of smell, a long
period intervenes until the child ob-
tains any adequate impressions of its

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

environment or any appropriate and
helpful appreciation of the relation
which it sustains to its surroundings.
The good and the bad, the harmful
or the harmless, fail to be recognized ;
or if they are indeed appreciated, the
power of expressing approval or dis-
approval is either lacking or else
manifested by signs which we are
unable to interpret correctly without
the greatest difficulty. Speech is still
wanting at this early age, and the child
lacks such instincts as might guide
it to do without parental care ; ac-
cordingly, observation and unceasing
attention must supply that which
nature has not yet provided. Thus
does the mother — the caretaker, the

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

nurse — become responsible for the
welfare of the infant.

I have recalled these facts, so
familiar to each of you, in order to
emphasize at the outset the pre-
eminent importance of physical
factors in early childhood. In a
recent paper Dr. Elizabeth Campbell
wrote :

'' A young expectant mother is
full of vagaries ; she tries to think
along certain lines, such as poetry,
music, or art, in order that her
child may be a poet, musician, or
artist ; she often becomes a prey
to quackeries of all kinds. . . .
A very few straightforward talks
to dissipate her vagaries and fears,
injunctions to lead a natural exist-

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

ence, turning her attention to the
fascinating study of child life and
its limitless possibilities, teaching
her constantly that she must be
ready to begin the training of her
child at once by submitting, with
understanding, to the regulations
imposed, will secure a rhythmical
habit which will ripen into happy
obedience." ^

Mothers as individuals, and asso-
ciations of mothers, are ever prone to
discuss the problems which especially
concern the mind and the soul of the
child. My remarks aim to present
some quite different aspects of growth
in childhood which seem to me worthy
of more careful and intelligent con-

1 <* New York Medical Journal," 1905, p. 581.

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

sideration than is usually accorded to
them.

The care of the young in early
infancy is by no means a simple task ;
for it involves a period of profound
physiological changes which may be
of momentous significance in the
later life of the individual. The
characteristic function of the body in
childhood is growth — essentially a
physiological change, into the char-
acteristics of which we must inquire
more closely.

The physiologist is accustomed to
think of the animal body as a ma-
chine. Just as an engine transforms
the energy appropriated in the form
of fuel into useful work and heat, so

13

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

the body mechanism converts the
energy of its fuel — the food we eat
— into muscular activity and body
warmth. In the case of the adult
the analogy is in many ways a far-
reaching one. The food supply must
be adapted to the needs of the body
for activity, movement, and warmth.
Work calls for more nutriment than
does inactivity. When the diet is
superabundant, we may store it up
and put on flesh ; or if it is inadequate,
we may burn up our own tissues to
supply the deficiency, and experience
a loss of body weight. The demands
of the body for appropriate and ade-
quate fuel are satisfied by correct
nutrition, under which process is in-

14

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

eluded the proper preparation of the
foodstuffs for utilization — in other
words, digestion — as well as the
subsequent elimination of the waste
products, — that is, the function of
excretion. There are, obviously, in-
cidents of wear and tear in our ma-
chinery which must be made good
by the nutritive processes. Such
losses in the adult assume no signifi-
cant proportions. In the ymmg^
however, the additional process of
growth must be provided for; abd
nutrition here plays a novel role in
"supplymg the material for the build-
^iag up of new LlssueTlbesidesjriaking
provision for theenergy devoted to
muscular activity and warmth.

15

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

The relatively large demands of
children for nutriment, especially at
the periods of most active develop-
ment, no longer surprise us when we
recall that the food materials are re-
quired for growth in addition to the
maintenance of the ordinary body
functions. But I believe that the
popular impression regarding th^ pro-
portion of the food intake of children
oevoted to purposes of growth is
greattyyexaggerated. A boy of fif-
teen, — at a period of^ very vigorous
"growth, — for example, will consume
about 1800 grams (solids and liquids)
per day, with an average increase of
only 20 grams in body weightf simi-
larly, a girl of thirteen years consum-

16

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

ing 1500 grams daily will add an
average of 12 grams only to her
weight each day. The portion of the
substance actually stored up each day
— scarcely more than yj^ of the
intake — is quite small in itself and
cannot be the immediate cause of the
large demand for food and drink.
On the contrary, the growing child
gxcretes the greater part of its ingested
nutrients inthe form of waste prod-
ucts. The nutritive demands are
large because all of the chemicaT
activities of the body are heightened
at this age. The intensification of the
nutritive exchanges in the young is
an mteresting fact, although its causes
are still obscure.

17

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

Every proud mother — and I pre-
sume that all mothers are instinc-
tively proud of their children — is
familiar with the average absolute
gains of infants in body weight.
Thus an average baby will gain
about an ounce a day during the first
month, and continue to add flesh.
The relative daily rate of growth,
however, is quite different at varying
periods. In terms of the total weight
of the child, it changes approximately
as follows :

1 The Relative Daily Gain of Children

In the first month it is about . '•00% of the body weight

At the middle of the first year 0.3 % " " *<

At the end of first year . . 0.15% " " <*

At the fifth year .... 0.03% " " "

1 The figures are taken fi-om Camcrer.

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

Increasing to a Maximum of

In boys 0.07% of the body weight

In girls 0.04% " " "

* * ^ * -x-
In the calf the corresponding

figure for the first week is . 5% of the body weight

I desire to point out that in animals
the relative rate of growth is usually
much larger than that of children,
amounting, as noted above in the case
of the calf, for example, to as much
as 5 per cent. The significance of
this will be referred to later.

With the pre-eminent importance
of the nutritive processes for the
growing child duly impressed upon
us, we naturally stop to inquire what
is the equipment of the young body
for the physiological work it has to

19

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

do. Here too, at early ages, we find
different "degrees of readiness" in
different animal species in regard to
their ability to perform the functions
peculiar to the fully developed indi-
vidual. In a general way this is illus-
trated by the varying ability to get
along — to obtain and prepare food
independently of the parent. Fre-
quently adequate digestive powers
are not matured at birth, and more
often the heat-regulating mechanism
is imperfectly developed at this stage.
Such deficiencies are present in those
animals, like birds, which hatch from
the egg and have an extra-uterine
development, as well as in those
which attain growth in closer relation

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

to the mother. This "unprepared-
ness " of the newly born for an in-
dependent existence is interestingly
exemplified in the inability of the
young child, as well as the chick
or the mouse or the kitten, to
maintain its body temperature per-
fectly. You are quite familiar with
the fact that owing to the peculiar
nervous regulating mechanism with
which the organism is endowed the
body temperature of an adult is re-
markably constant despite varying
external conditions. Any marked
deviation from the so-called normal
temperature of man constitutes a
familiar symptom of disease. When
newly born puppies, kittens, and

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

rabbits are removed from their usual
warm surroundings, their tempera-
ture will become lowered and con-
tinue to fall until it reaches a point
a few degrees above the temperature
of the surrounding air. These ani-
mals are blind at birth, helpless, and
in some cases naked; and they
cannot maintain their temperature
without the protective warmth and
instinctive huddling together afforded
by the mother. In contrast with
such animals are newly born guinea-
pigs. They come into the world in
a condition of marked development;
the animals are active, their eyes are
open, they have a partial coat of fur,
and can be largely independent of the

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

mother in procuring food. From the
earliest period these animals can main-
tain a fairly constant temperature amid
colder surroundings. In human in-
fants the conditions correspond with
those pertaining in young animals of
the more dependent class rather than
those born in an advanced condition
of development. The infantile tem-
perature is variable, owing to the im-
perfect development of the regulating
power, notably in immature young
individuals. The readiness with
which the temperature irregularities
manifest themselves upon slight prov-
ocation, even in children of several
years' growth, is familiar to every
observing mother.

23

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

It remains for us, therefore, to
draw the proper lesson from this
defenceless condition of the young
amid their colder environment. We
learn to appreciate what warm cloth-
ing means to the naked infant other-
wise helpless in its resistance to the
atmosphere about it. I am ready to
believe that not a little abdominal
pain and crying among infants is ul-
timately attributable to the thought-
less exposure of arms and legs, even
in summer months. The misguided
judgment or unconcealed convenience
of mothers occasionally permits chil-
dren to cry until they are hoarse. This
is neither health-giving nor humane ;
and the smallest attention to the

24

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

details just discussed will frequently
restore a restful quiet. The invigor-
ating thrill which cold in the form
of a cold bath or a cold sleeping-
room arouses in an adult is scarcely-
attained at those ages where the
temperature-regulating mechanism is
not yet thoroughly developed for the
appropriate response of heat produc-
tion. And therefore I am inclined
to believe that the prevalent practice
— shall I call it a fad ? — of dressing
young boys and girls in short socks
at certain seasons is inadvisable, if
not actually barbarous. Man has
instinctively protected himself against
the unpleasantness of a cold environ-
ment by the adoption of clothing.

»5

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

The extent of this protection is varied
with the climate in which he resides.
In our average climate about 80
per cent of the body is ordinarily
clothed. The bared-leg costumes of
the present mode may leave as much
as 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the
child's body surface exposed with cor-
respondingly increased loss of heat.
Some of us have noticed that even
in adults the kiltie suit may become
uncomfortably cool on a New Haven
summer day ! What shall we expect
in the less resistant child during cool
autumn weather ?

Turning again to the question of
nutrition, I may remind you that
the child, like the adult, requires the

26

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

three typical groups of foodstuffs :
the proteids (such as the casein of
milk, the white of egg, or the sub-

Stance of meat) to build the tissues;

. — . 7 '^

carbohydrate foods (like the sugars
and starches) and fats to furnish
energy. The relative proportions in
which they ordinarily participate in
the diet is indicated below :

Proportion of the Energy Intake Con-
tributed BY THE Different Groups
OF Nutrients in Infancy

Proteids 19%

Carbohydrates 28%

Fats 53%

100%

Eggs and milk are ideal foods
in the sense that they contain prac-
tically all of the food elements es-

27

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

sential to the young whose growth
they are intended to support. But
nature has done even more ; she has
adapted the milk of every species to
the special needs of its young, as
has been admirably demonstrated by
Professor Bunge.

In the table below it will be noted
that the richness of milk in proteid,
inorganic salts, lime and phosphoric
acid — substances needed to build
the tissues and bony skeleton — is
proportioned to the rate of growth.
Thus the food supply of the rapidly
developing puppy is comparatively
more abundant in the necessary con-
stituents than is the milk furnished
to the slowly growing infant.

28

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

Time

One Hundred Parts or

in which the
body weight
of the newly
born animals
is doubled

Milk CoNTAih

r

Speciss

"3
*«

S

V

E

•;3

0U,

Man . . .

1 80 days

1.6

0.2

0.32

0.47

Horse

60 **

2.0

0.4

1.24

1. 31

Cow .

47 "

3-5

0.7

1.60

1.97

Goat.

19 **

4-3

0.8

2.10

3.22

Pig .

18 <*

5-9

. . .

. . .

Sheep

10 "

6.5

0.9

2.72

4.12

Dog .

8 *<

7.1

1-3

4.53

4-93

Cat .

7 "

9-5

• •

It is a further remarkable fact that
the proportion of the various inor-
ganic substances (the salts or mineral
nutrients as they are sometimes called)
to each other in milk is almost the
same as it is in the entire body of
the animals which thrive upon it.

29

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

The relative demands of the grow-
ing organism for more lime than
magnesium, more phosphorus than
iron, etc., is thus provided for.

Mineral Constituents of One Hundred
Parts of

Sucking

Dog's

Dog's

Puppy

Milk

Blood

Potassium, KgO . .

8.5

10.7

3.1

Sodium, NagO . . .

8.2

6.1

45.6

Calcium, CaO . . .

35.8

34-4

0.9

Magnesium, MgO. .

1.6

1-5

0.4

Iron, FegOg ....

0-34

0.14

9-4

Phosphorus, PgO^ . .

39.8

37-5

13.3

Chlorine, CI ... .

7.3

12.5

35.6

These small quantities of the inor-
ganic constituents of milk, insignifi-
cant though they seem, are yet most
potent in their influence upon growth
and nutrition. Every one recognizes

30

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

the need of iron for the blood, of
lime for the bones; but too often
the importance of the others is over-
looked. Thus, without common salt
(chloride of sodium) no normal gastric
juice can be formed.

In the table following, the figures
for the composition of the milk of
several animal species of domestic
importance are placed together for
comparison.

Composition of the Milk of Various Species

(Percentages)

Woman

Cow

Goat

Mare

Ass

Pig

Total Proteids

io7

3.5

4.3

2.0

2.2

5.9

Fat . . o

3.4

3-7

4.8

Io2

1.6

6.9

Sugar . . 0

6.1

4-9

4-5 .

5.7

6.0

3.8

Mineral Matter

0.2

0.7

0.8

0.4

0.5

I I

31

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

After what has been said you will ap-
preciate, if never before, why mother's
milk cannot be replaced by that of the
cow — least of all by proprietary foods
of unsatisfactory or irrational compo-
sition. Our imitations are poor in-
deed, and "the steam sterilizer will
never replace a mother's love and
attention." Nevertheless, when ne-
cessity or preference calls for some
substitute for mother's milk, the at-
tempt must be made to approach as
nearly as possible to the natural diet
of the infant. A glance at the com-
parative analyses will indicate why
attention has been directed in recent
years to the use of mare's and ass's
milk. In digestibility and composi-

3»

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

tion they seem to resemble mother's
milk somewhat more closely than
does cow's milk ; while goat's milk,
contrary to the current belief, is
rather closely allied to that of the
cow.

In addition to these details of com-
position pertaining to the use of
foreign milk, there is the further fact
that children are accustomed to get
food far more easily from the bottle
than from the breast, and too often
they become the recipient of an
undue quantity of the artificial food
through the misguided generosity
of the sympathetic mother or nurse.
The actual capacity of the infan-
tile stomach at various periods is

33

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

surprisingly small when expressed
in absolute figures. According to
Rubner it ranges as follows:

First week 46 cc. ( i ^ ounces)

Second week 72 cc. (2^ ounces)

Second month 140 cc. (4% ounces)

Twelfth month 400 cc. (13^ ounces)

The problem of infant nutrition
is, perhaps, the most serious one con-
nected with the physiology of child-
hood, and it involves primarily the
proper adjustment of the food in
quality and quantity to the digestive
capacity of the young. " If on the
one hand we observe how carefully
nature has adapted the composition
of the milk to the needs of every
species of mammal, and if on the
other we consider how ignorant we

34

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

are concerning the nature of the food-
stuffs, the digestive processes in the
infant and the disturbances which
these are liable to from the myriad
micro-organisms in the intestines, it
is not a matter for wonder that in
spite of the gravest efforts the natural
diet for infants has not yet been suc-
cessfully replaced by any artificial
food." . . . The census taken in
Berlin in 1890 showed that there
were then 39,000 children under the
age of one year in that city. Of
these 20,000 were breast-fed, 16,000
were reared by hand. Of the breast-
fed children one in thirteen died,
whereas among those brought up by
hand the mortality rose to one out

35

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

of every two infants. ..."No doubt
this exceessively high rate of infant
mortality is due not only to the
unnatural mode of diet, but partly to
the neglect which is doubtless in
many cases associated therewith ;
since a mother who nurses her child
would also, as a general rule, in-
stinctively lavish more care upon
it." — [Bunge] We have lived to
see considerable progress made in
recent years in the artificial nutrition
of the young, and the introduction
of accurate "percentage feeding"
by Professor Rotch marks a distinct
advance over the older methods of
guesswork and trial. To-day the
progressive physician, co-operating

36

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

with the intelligent mother, is in a
position to ascertain whether the
various nutrients fed are satisfac-
torily utilized, and to readjust the
composition of the food mixture to
meet the requirements of the indi-
vidual case. If the fats or the pro-
teids are incompletely digested, the
proportion of either can be modified
without any extensive change in the
remaining constituents. We are thus
attempting precisely what nature ac-
complishes by varying the composi-
tion of the milk at different intervals
during the period of lactation. The
composition of the milk changes in
accordance with the rate of growth ;
just as the suckling grows most vig-

37

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

orously soon after birth and increases
in weight less rapidly as time goes
on, so the amount of proteid and
Vnineral ingredients^ in the milk alsp^
aTTrrtTTisTies with the duration of

lactation.

The most progressive clinicians
agree in attributing no small share
of the digestive disturbances of in-
fancy to overfeeding. If we bear in
mind the more tardy digestibility of
cow's milk, and the attendant danger
of a decomposition of the unabsorbed
residues, with a consequent distribu-
tion of poisonous products in the or-
ganism, the train of difficulties which
attend indiscretions in feeding is
apparent. The possibility of under-

38

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

feeding is usually overfeared. It is
infinitely better to lose a pound or
two already gained than to endanger
the entire organism with food which

cannot be assimilated. An ounce re-

tained is worth a pound regurgitated.
It has often seemed to me that
many parents display an excessive
zeal in foisting improper diets upon
their children. They fail to realize
the comparative limitations of the
youthful digestive tract, while the
children too soon learn to imitate
the customs of their elders. This
is true, for example, in the habit of
eating meat, a stimulating and con-
centrated proteid food. "The colt
or calf does not thrive on a diet of

39

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

rich corn meal, though it may be
very proper for the horse or cow.
Carnivorous animals, be it noted, do
not allow their young to have meat
until quite a time after they have all
their teeth fully developed, though
apparently it would be their proper
food. Meat given to kittens or
puppies invariably produces convul-
sions." ^ It is said that cats will
take away meat from their kittens
when it is given to them, even up
to the time when they are three
months old. In early infancy there
is only imperfect provision for the
digestion of starch ; yet I could name

1 Hoy : "Eating and Drinking," p. 252.
40

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

familiar so-called substitutes for
mother's milk which abound in this
foodstuff.

The intestine of the young is ex-
tremely delicate and far more liable
to bacterial invasion than is the case
in later life. This explains in part
the easy susceptibility of children to
intestinal infections ; they succumb
under conditions in which the adult
is thoroughly immune. Hence has
arisen the desire to protect the ali-
mentary tract against the introduction
of undesirable organisms. There are
unfortunately two erroneous impres-
sions regarding the efficacy of the
sterilization or pasteurization of food,

41

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

which are not yet completely eradi-
cated. The one assumes that the
food, once sterile, will remain so,
and disregards the danger of a sub-
sequent exposure. The other, more
serious mistake lies in the belief that
in destroying germs the products of
their previous activity are likewise
eliminated. Milk once contaminated
for any length of time can never
be rendered wholesome by ever so
thorough sterilization. The bacte-
rial poisons are there to stay; ac-
cordingly, the precious food should
be guarded against deterioration from
the very beginning. Clean, fresh,
carefully kept milk is a desideratum ;

4»

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

sterilization is at best a necessary
evil : worst of all is the introduction
of the so-called harmless preserva-
tives which place a premium upon
dirt by rendering cleanliness unnec-
essary instead of unavoidable.

I have already referred to the
peculiar importance of the mineral
nutrients for the proper development
of the body, in illustration of which
the familiar need of lime for the
growth of the bones was mentioned.
The figures, arranged in the table
according to the ratio of lime con-
tained, indicate how unlike is the dis-
tribution of mineral ingredients in
different common foods.

43

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

Analyses of Mineral Ingredients of Various
Articles of Diet

Arranged according to the ratio of Lime contained

o

go
5^

IS

go

1

0 0

go.

a

cu

S

cu

y

Beef. . . .

1.66

0.32

0.029

0.152

0.02

1.83

0.28

Wheat . . .

0.62

0.06

0.065

0.24

0.026

0.94

(0

Potato . . .

2.28

0.1 1

O.I

0.19

0.042

0.64

0.13

Egg albumin

1.44

1.45

0.13

0.13

0.026

0.2

1.32

Peas ....

1. 13

0.03

0.137

0.22

0.024

0.99

(0

Human milk

0.58

0.17

0.243

0.05

0.003

0.35

0.32

Yolk of egg

0.27

0.17

0.38

0.06

0.04

1.9

0.35

Cow*smilk .

1.67

1.05

1. 51

0.20

0.003

1.86

1.6

Notice that a child would probably
not obtain the lime requisite for the
growth of its frame if brought up
upon meat and wheat bread alone.
Professor Bunge has lately called

44

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

attention to the possible danger to
children in the increased consump-
tion of candy, prepared as it is from
pure sugar. He explains the popular
notion regarding a connection be-
tween defective teeth and candy eat-
ing on the assumption that children
who live largely on meat, bread, and
candy — all poor in lime — may fail
to get their proper quota of this
element. He urges a return to lime-
containing sweet fruits for the dietary
of children. This seems to me more
rational, at least, than the indiscrim-
inate administration of lime-water.
The quantities of lime in common
foods are given in the table following:

45

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH
Quantities of Lime in Foods

(Milligrams per joo grams of the dry substance^

Sugar . . .

o.o

Egg white .

130.0

Honey . . .

6.7

Peas . . .

137.0

Beef . . .

29.0

Plums . .

166.0

Wheat bread .

46.0

Human milk

243.0

Grapes (Malaga)

60.0

Egg-yolk . .

380.0

Graham bread .

77.0

Figs . . .

400.0

Pears . . .

95.0

Strawberries .

483.0

Potatoes . .

lOO.O

Cow's milk .

1510.0

Dates . . .

108.0

We frequently hear the remark
that childhood is the period at which
correct habits should be formed. The
subject is one which perhaps more
properly belongs to the psychology
of youth ; but the foundation of
proper habits of rest, exercise, and
diet should be based upon sound
physiological grounds. Life is in

46

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

a sense a rhythm of inherited or ac-
quired habits. With respect to one
of these I cannot refrain from quot-
ing Dr. Nathan Oppenheim. He
says :

'' From the earliest possible time
the habit of eating slowly and
chewing the food very thoroughly
must be insisted upon. If this is
begun at an early enough age, it
is easily learned and will prove to
be a valuable acquisition for later
years. If the child eats with an
attendant or with the rest of the
family, he should be allowed to
talk to a reasonable extent ; speech
should be regulated, not forbidden.
For with children, as well as adults,
the act of speaking causes useful

47

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

breaks in the steady course of mas-
ticating and swallowing food ; it
allows the gastric contents to be
well mixed with the secretions of
the stomach, and at the same time
it provides an atmosphere of rea-
sonable enjoyment that a child
may claim as well as his elders.
The rule that children should be
seen and not heard is capable of
too strict an interpretation that
lends itself very readily to petty
domestic tyranny. So long as
there is a reasonable and healthy
discipline in the household, every
child should be allowed to talk, to
take part in the family life, to feel
that he is an integral part of the
home circle, and to realize that his
words — even if they be not heavy
with wisdom — will receive the

48

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

consideration and attention which
abiding love and a mild toleration
dictate. The ordinary child whose
environment provides suitable ex-
amples of self-restraint and good
manners learns in a surprisingly
short time how to conduct him-
self within sufficient bounds to be
reckoned as a human being, and
not as a more or less untamed
animal."

I have dwelt upon the subject of
table-habits because physiologists are
just beginning to understand the
real significance of the pleasure of the
table In the functions of digestion, as
well as In the broader enjoyment of
life. The psychical element In diges-
tion cannot be overrated. Fear, sor-

49

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

row, anguish, nausea, may promptly
check the flow of the digestive juices;
while palate-tempting dishes and the
pleasure of the meal, with a congenial
environment, are mighty incentives
to the production of active digestive
' secretions. A scolding mother and
a sensitive child make an unhealthy
dining-room combination.

Dr. Elizabeth Campbell says:

" Very rarely we find a mother
or nurse too liberal, not tempering
theory with sound judgmento It
is then we realize that for the ac-
complishment of such a training a
mother with a fine instinct, tem-
pered by desire of investigation,
and endowed with common sense
in the appreciation of theory, is

50

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

not only the physician's ally, but a
teacher from whom can be learned
many precious truths."

However, " many a conscien-
tious mother sighs on Sunday
morning when she realizes that
on that day the structure of habit
she has so carefully reared during
the week will be ruthlessly over-
thrown if it happens to please the
father."

The guidance of the young in
their bodily exercise and sports calls
for no specific rules in contrast with
those of the old, unless it be to modify
the extent of their exertions. In the
formative and impressionable period
of their careers attention should be
devoted more often than it is to the

51

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

elimination of physical defects. They
are, frequently, remediable by the
desrelopment of muscular power
through the exercise of specific parts,
and by inducing appropriate growth
in plastic tissues. I have been im-
pressed with the possibilities in this
direction in my contact with young
college students. Not only do our
modes of dress for children lead to
the malformation of parts of the body
like the feet, but the current fashions
in child play seem to me to cultivate
the exercise of the arms and legs too
exclusively. Weakness in the ab-
dominal muscles is an undesirable
defect. The juvenile overalls —
dirt-proof and comfortable — are

5^

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

therefore to be welcomed if they
effect a transformation of the modern
soldier-like play of children into the
free-and-easy sport of animals. We
must not relegate tumbling and roll-
ing and climbing and jumping to the
lost arts.

<* Behold the child among his new-born blisses,
A six years' darling of a pigmy size !
See where 'mid work of his own hands he lies,
Fretted by sallies of his mother' s kisses.
With light upon him from his father's eyes.
See at his feet some little plan or chart.
Some fragment from his dream of human life.
Shaped by himself with newly learned art, —
A wedding or a festival,
A mourning or a funeral ;

And this hath now his heart.
And unto this he frames his song.
Then will he fit his tongue

53

CHILDHOOD AND GROWTH

To dialogues of business, love, or strife j

But it will not be long

Ere this be thrown aside.

And with new joy and pride
The little actor cons another part,
Filling from time to time his * humorous stage
With all the persons, down to palsied age.
That life brings with her in her equipage.

As if his whole vocation

Were endless imitation."

54

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