Diet in Childhood
177
up and bear fruit. Self-indulgence grows with the growth of the little
ones, and both mental and physical vigor are sacrificed. Mothers who
do this work reap with bitterness the seed they have sown. They see
their children grow up unfitted in mind and character to act a noble
and useful part in society or in the home. The spiritual as well as the
mental and physical powers suffer under the influence of unhealthful
food. The conscience becomes stupefied, and the susceptibility to
good impressions is impaired.
[231]
While the children should be taught to control the appetite, and to
eat with reference to health, let it be made plain that they are deny-
ing themselves only that which would do them harm. They give up
hurtful things for something better. Let the table be made inviting
and attractive, as it is supplied with the good things which God has
so bountifully bestowed. Let mealtime be a cheerful, happy time. As
we enjoy the gifts of God, let us respond by grateful praise to the
Giver.—
The Ministry of Healing, 383-385, 1905
347. Many parents, to avoid the task of patiently educating their
children to habits of self-denial, and teaching them how to make a
right use of all the blessings of God, indulge them in eating and drink-
ing whenever they please. Appetite and selfish indulgence, unless
positively restrained, grow with the growth and strengthen with the
strength. When these children commence life for themselves, and take
their place in society, they are powerless to resist temptation. Moral
impurity and gross iniquity abound everywhere. The temptation to in-
dulge taste and to gratify inclination has not lessened with the increase
of years, and youth in general are governed by impulse, and are slaves
to appetite. In the glutton, the tobacco devotee, the winebibber, and the
inebriate, we see the evil results of defective education.—
Testimonies
for the Church 3:564, 1875
Indulgence and Depravity
348. Children who eat improperly are often feeble, pale, and
dwarfed and are nervous, excitable, and irritable. Everything noble
is sacrificed to the appetite, and the animal passions predominate.
The lives of many children from five to ten and fifteen years of age
seem marked with depravity. They possess knowledge of almost every
vice. The parents are, in a great degree, at fault in this matter, and to