How to Raise Kids.

While I don’t have any children, I feel I am perfectly qualified to write this blog as I am armed with the The NEW MODERN MEDICAL COUNSELOR (the 1954 edition!)  I picked this gem up at a garage sale last month, and my purchase has already generated the most fun I have ever had under five bucks.

First, let’s take a look at the Suggested Daily Schedule for the Child (from age 2-6)

7:00AM Rising.  Toilet.  Wash hands and face.  Brush Teeth.  Dress.

7:30 AM  Breakfast.  Toilet for bowel movement.  Wash hands.  Out of doors when weather permits.  Play in sun whenever possible.

10:00 AM  Toilet.  Wash hands.  Outdoor play when weather permits.

11:45 AM  Toilet.  Wash hands and face.  Rest.

12:00 PM  Dinner, which should be the heaviest meal of the day.

12:30PM  Dress for nap.  Toilet.  Wash hands.  Nap.

2:30 PM  Toilet.  Wash hands.  Dress.  Milk, fruit, or fruit juice if desired and if experience proves it does not impair the appetite for supper.  Out of door play when weather permits.  Play in sun whenever possible.

5:15 PM  Supper.  Toilet.  Wash hands.  Brush teeth.

6:00 PM  Bed.  Lights out, windows open, bedroom door shut.

Wow.  Besides the possible bathroom-fixation issue this kid may face as an adult, check out what Child Y has learned:

1. Movement should make up the bulk of my day!
2. Rest is crucial!  I sleep when I am tired (and not to reach for the cup of coffee instead!)
3. I go to bed when the sun goes down so I can regenerate all the used cells and allow my brain to integrate the information from this day.

Talk about solving a lot of health care issues we face as a nation!  By my calculations, this child moves 5.5 hours per day, soaks in the natural vitamins provided by the sun (we may need a little sunscreen these days), and celebrates with a two-hour siesta mid-day.  Um, I’d like to sign up for this suggested program, please!

Next…Children are normally active, and one does not often need to urge them to take more exercise.  It is wise, however, to study the probable effect of the activities which they are seen to choose, and to provide a good place and suitable playthings and apparatus so they will naturally choose the types of play or exercise that will promote good posture and lead to the harmonious development of all their muscles.

Translation:  If you put a computer or TV there, a kid is going to “naturally” choose to slouch in front of it all day (it’s the biological law of thermodynamics!).   It is best to not give them the option to choose poorly and let movement and healthy joints, dense bones, and appropriate body weight happen “organically”.

On food…As children emerge from babyhood, great care should still be taken in educating their tastes and appetite.  Often they are permitted to eat what they choose and when they choose, without reference to health.  The young are led to think that the highest object in life, and that which yields the greatest amount of happiness, is to be able to indulge the appetite.  The result of this training is gluttony, then comes sickness, which is usually followed by dosing with poisonous drugs.

Well, that’s just a little bit of 1950’s fortune-telling, isn’t it?

Parents should be capable of rearing them in physical, mental, and moral health.  Parents should study the laws of nature.  They should become acquainted with the organism of the human body.  They need to understand the functions of the various organs, and their relation and dependence.  They should study the relation of the mental to the physical powers, and the conditions required for the healthy action of each.  To assume the responsibilities of parenthood without such preparation is a sin.

WHOA!  That is a bold paragraph, but I will have to agree, as our habits of health are developed early on.  The more you can coordinate your family’s biorhythms with the rhythm of nature, the more rested and relaxed the entire clan will be.  Stress is a huge component of disease across the board.  Take the time to teach CALM.  Plan a day with no agenda but to walk around, enjoy light play, or snuggle on the couch as a family.

Finally, I’d like to end with what I feel is a great suggestion from our friends in 1950.  “Being the sort of person a parent wants his child to be is the best way of helping him to become that sort of person.”*

(*There were no women in the 1950’s…obviously.)

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