OUR BABIES THE LAW OF EXERCISE.

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2890, 30 September 1916, Page 12

OUR BABIES

THE LAW OF EXERCISE.

fßr Htgeia.i Published under the ; auspices of the Royal- Now Zoaland Society for the Health of Women and Children. "It is wiser to put a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an e.mbulanco at the bottom."

The law of exercise applies to man and all othei' members of tho animal kingdom, and may be roughly expressed as follows:—The substances of muscles. nerveSj and all organs and p.jirts of the body and their power of work aro strengthened by exercise and weakened by iuactivit}-. Further, if, there is lack of proper exercise of the various parts of the organism at the time appointed by Nature for their normal growth and development, such idleness will cause these structures and parts to be stunted and imperfectly formed; hence it is that while exercise is important for us all through life, regular daily exercise is a more imperative necessity for the infant than it is for' the adult. The fullydeveloped human being, in spite of indifferent health consequent on sedentary habits, may manage to live and carry on the duties of life after a fashion; but similar ■ neglect in early, infancy causes the majority of babies so treated to die in the first 12 months of lifo, or to become stunted and to develop Rickets or other diseases or deformities. This has been proved by the universal experience of public institutions for rearing infants, where.due attention has not beerf paid to ensuring proper stimulation and exercise. Mortality rates of from 50 to 90 per hundred in the first 12 months of life liavo been quite common in institutions _whore babies have been left passively lying in their cradles or cots under tho mistaken idea that all they needed was to be fed and to sleep and grow. This matter is so thoroughly explained, especially in regard to the proper development of the jaws, teeth, and muscle?, on pages U to -IS and' 146 to 148 of the Societv's book, "Feeding j and Care of Baby," that I need not enter further 011 this aspect of the matter. My present purpose is rather to draw attention to the supreme importance of ample daily outdoor exercise for lioys and girls. 'What Dr. Forel Says. Dr. August Forel, the distinguished Swiss physician, in his hook on the "Hygiene of the Nerves and Mind;" after defining the law of exercise, goes on to say:— "Facility and skill in carrying out activities are improved by frequent repetition, These facts are quite, general, and Can be Stated as a law of exercise applicable to all muscular and nervous action—strengthening and increase through exercise weakening and. stunting through inactivity. But we must not forget' that the term Exercise or Practice or' Habit is by no means confined to muscular exercise_ and technical dexterities, but is used in a broad sense to include the exercise of all mental and nervous structures and'faculties." One exercises oneself in ■ seeing, hearing, and thinking, and even in standing heat and cold, and in carrying out one's resolution. Exercise is ot confined to walking, miming, swimming, cycling, gymnastics, fencing, cookihg, or polishing. Proper exercise consists Vin regular training, in which all 6udden'over-exer-tion and feats of strength are avoided. We gain slowly but surely in strength and skill when wo persistently 'repeat thing 3 every day—or at least, very often— and each time do a little more. But thougli practice makes perfect, this is not true of over-exertion, and exhaustion. The nervous system must have its substance restored after vigorous action, necessitating proper nourishment and adequate rest and sleep. This is not the place to discuss the hygiene of digestion or of the circulation or of bodily nutrition in general. Nourishment slioiild be moderate, but sufficient, and free from extremes and excesses. Dr. Forel is profoundly impressed with the need for authoritative guidance of the public in matters vitally concerning the health of the individual and his family. He says :~- "My conception of popular hygiene is that it should enable an intelligent layman to govern his life in such a. Wav as to avoid diseases and abnormalities as far as possible for himself, his fellowmen, and his offspring, and to promote the health arjfi'strength of them all in every respect." The Hygiene of Exercise For Boys and Girls. I now turn to the work of a great Frenchman, Dr. Ferdinand Lagrange, irli'oso book on the above subject was officially "crowned" by the Minister of Public Instruction. I have space for only a few'extracts (of which I make a free translation) from the concluding chapter ol' Dr. Lagrange's great book. He says: "I have taken .the word "hygiene* in the broadest sense as thfe art of assuring the due balance of the moral as well as the physical health. In our opinion a system of hygiene, is incomplete if It only develops the lun»s, and gives vigour to tho muscles. The legitimate con-, elusion of our research is the necessity for a radical reform in our programmes of physical education. "Among tho conditions wliioli exercise for boys and girls ought to fulfil in order to conform to the laws of health there nre two which dominate all tliG others— from, the moral poiut of view exercise must be recreative, and from the physical point of view it must ensure thorough breathing. . "We must choose exercises capable ot throwing 'wide open tho port of entry for oxygen, which we call the chestexercises capable of increasing tho full respiration and doubling its activity. We have shown clearly that games provide the forms of exercise most capable of promoting healthy breathing exercise, A«d in order that the air may bo Iresh and invigorating thero must be proper playgrounds, and thojamps must take place in the- open air.. We have shown also that joy is necessary for the bodily hygiene of the pupil ns 'well as for his moral health. We must amuse and interest our .bovs and -iris if we wish them to keep well; we must amuse,, and interest them if we wish to prevent their becoming vicious. And it is also in games-'recreative exercises" par excellence—that we uliist look for this element of which tile hygienic requirement is so pressing—w a word, pleasure. "Open-air I games are, then, the only form of gymnastics which we find satisfy tho requirements of hygiene for little children and bnvs and girls. Merc •n-niiistics a'one will not do. What Dr. Lagrange says as to the difficulties which lie in the way # of fuifilling our clear duty to the Tising generation as regards playgrounds and facilities for free, open-air exercise can stand over for next week's column: but I cannot refrain from quoting the last parpprnnh of his book as being of special interest at the present time:— "We have lint recoiled from the cost of free education. Wo have . grasped the fact that every French citizen has a right to instruction. Can wo not also realise that our children have a right to health—to that degree of health at least below which . a boy does not become a : citizen capable of serving his country. [Of course, the nation's need for healthy girls is at least cnually imperative.] "There arc crushing expenses that we accept 1 without hesitation, because they are considered indispensable to tho security of the country, and everyone bows to the inevitable in tho face of ruinous War Budgets; but, ,6trange contradiction, tho same people who have no regrets when it is a question of the manufacture of arms, cannot decide on a slight sacrifice for the sake of having ni"n capable of carrying them." What abolit our own JJ) per cent, of young men rejected as unfit for military scrvico? In the past we were certainly not less careless than the French in our neglect of the care of mother and child, and we aro now reaping the natural harvest. We still lack proper open-air exercise 6paces and playgrounds in connection with our schools. A due amount of exercise and open-air Tecrcation should l>e regarded as an essential nart of the school course—a first essential if we. are to rear a strong and virile race, and not a mere set of sedentary examination passers.