Diet in Childhood
181
early age. Self-indulgence and intemperance in eating grow with their
growth and strengthen with their strength. Mental and physical vigor
are sacrificed through the indulgence of parents. A taste is formed
for certain articles of food from which they can receive no benefit,
but only injury, and as the system is taxed, the constitution becomes
debilitated.—
Testimonies for the Church 3:488, 489, 1875
[
The Foundation of Intemperance—203
]
Teach an Abhorrence for Stimulants
355. Teach your children to abhor stimulants. How many are
ignorantly fostering in them an appetite for these things! In Europe
I have seen nurses putting the glass of wine or beer to the lips of the
innocent little ones, thus cultivating in them a taste for stimulants. As
they grow older, they learn to depend more and more on these things,
till little by little they are overcome, drift beyond the reach of help,
and at last fill a drunkard’s grave.
But it is not thus alone that the appetite is perverted and made a
snare. The food is often such as to excite a desire for stimulating drinks.
Luxurious dishes are placed before the children,—spiced foods, rich
gravies, cakes, and pastries. This highly seasoned food irritates the
stomach, and causes a craving for still stronger stimulants. Not only
is the appetite tempted with unsuitable food, of which the children
are allowed to eat freely at their meals, but they are permitted to eat
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between meals, and by the time they are twelve or fourteen years of
age they are often confirmed dyspeptics.
You have perhaps seen a picture of the stomach of one who is
addicted to strong drink. A similar condition is produced under the
irritating influence of fiery spices. With the stomach in such a state,
there is a craving for something more to meet the demands of the
appetite, something stronger, and still stronger. Next you find your
sons out on the street learning to smoke.—
Christian Temperance and
Bible Hygiene, 17, 1890
Foods Especially Injurious to Children
356. It is impossible for those who give the reins to appetite to
attain to Christian perfection. The moral sensibilities of your children
cannot be easily aroused, unless you are careful in the selection of