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The Ministry of Healing
health. The pains and money so often lavished upon unwholesome
dainties lead the young 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.
Parents should train the appetites of their children and should not
permit the use of unwholesome foods. But in the effort to regulate
the diet, we should be careful not to err in requiring children to eat
that which is distasteful, or to eat more than is needed. Children
have rights, they have preferences, and when these preferences are
reasonable they should be respected.
Regularity in eating should be carefully observed. Nothing
should be eaten between meals, no confectionery, nuts, fruits, or
food of any kind. Irregularities in eating destroy the healthful tone of
the digestive organs, to the detriment of health and cheerfulness. And
when the children come to the table, they do not relish wholesome
food; their appetites crave that which is hurtful for them.
Mothers who gratify the desires of their children at the expense
of health and happy tempers, are sowing seeds of evil that will spring
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
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of unhealthful food. The conscience becomes stupefied, and the
susceptibility to good impressions is impaired.
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
denying 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.