Building health habits

BOOK ONE. BUILDING HEALTH HABITS THE EVERYDAY HEALTH SERIES Book ONE

BY M. V. O’SHEA

PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION, THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN AUTHOR OF ** MENTAL DEVELOPMENT AND EDUCATION,’’ ETC., ETC.

AND

J; Hy KELLOGG

SUPERINTENDENT OF THE BATTLE CREEK SANITARIUM AUTHOR OF ‘‘ MAN, THE MASTERPIECE,’’ ETC., ETC.

All rights reserved

CopyRIGHT, 1915, 1921, By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.

Git EDUCATION DEPT.

Publishes

Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.

Introduction To This Series

Ir is the aim in The Everyday Health Series to present in an attractive form for pupils in the elementary school the latest and most accurate knowledge relating to physiology and to the hygiene of daily life. The constant effort of the authors has been to make scientific knowledge so simple, so concrete, and so inviting that pupils can hardly fail to take an interest in the problems of preserving health for the purpose of making the most of life.

The aim has been kept in view of awakening in the child a normal desire to live in such a manner as to develop strength and preserve health, because in this way he will have the greatest success in securing the things which he desires, and in avoiding the disabilities and pains which otherwise are likely to occupy a considerable part of his life. Comparatively little attention is given to anatomy, and only sufficient physiology is presented to constitute a basis for the facts of health that are discussed.

Very extensive use is made of photographs and diagrams illustrating everyday life in the city.and in the country. At least one interesting and practical original exercise is suggested for every principle of health presented in each lesson. In order further to assist the teacher and the pupil, a list of questions, fully covering the text, is given at the end of each chapter.

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Preface To Book One

Tuts book is designed for pupils in the intermediate grades of the elementary school. The aim is to lead young pupils tosee that their habits of living determine whether they will, much of the time, be sick or well and whether or not they will have strength to perform the various tasks of daily life.

In the preparation of the book, the authors have observed the typical child in everyday life. They have noted his tendencies in matters involving health, and they have studied particularly his problems in adapting himself to present-day conditions in the country and in the city, These observations have suggested the subjects pertaining to health which will interest a child and will be of practical value for him. These are the subjects that are discussed in this book.

With a view to determining the child’s habits, the authors have further studied children in respect to their attitude toward different methods of presenting facts of health. They have found that the typical child is not much influenced’ by mere exhortation to live in a healthful way; but he is greatly influenced by everything which promises to increase his energy for his games and plays and which will help him to avoid the _ pains and sickness from which he frequently suffers, and which he knows deprive him of the opportunities he craves to be in action all the time and to succeed as well as his rivals in his undertakings. These traits of children have determined the manner in which the facts and principles in this book are treated.

viii PREFACE

The plan throughout has been (1) to use simple and concrete terms, (2) to develop the meaning of any new term before it is given, (3) to illustrate every principle of health by familiar examples and by photographs and drawings, and (4) to have the young become self-helpful in solving practical problems relating to health habits. In order to assist the pupil to keep in mind the points discussed, marginal headings are freely used. Lists of questions are appended to each chapter for the use of both the pupil and the teacher. The pronunciation and the meaning of hard words are indicated at the end of the book.

Table Of Contents

PAGE WHat Goop HEALTH MEANS . ; : , - ‘ I HEALTH HABITS : : ; ’ ‘ * iameckae : 5 HEALTH HABITS IN STANDING . ; ; , ; : 9 Goop PosTuRE IN SITTING ; : ; ; i Ae. ¢.

HEALTH HABITS IN WALKING AND WORKING . ; eee HEALTH AND EXERCISE . . , : ‘ ‘ PADS PLAY AND HEALTH . ; : ; ee eg : aes.’

. .THE HEART AND THE STREAM OF LIFE . ‘ : eee | OuTpooR LIFE . ‘ : i ; ; ‘ ; st aie FrEesH AIR INDOORS . ; : s . : : ‘na e KEEPING THE HOUSE HEALTHFUL . ; : : alah i LIGHTING THE HOUSE : 7 j ‘ 4 ° atk CLEANING THE HOUSE : . ‘ : ; : ee | HEALTH HABITS IN BREATHING : ; ; ‘ 560 HEALTH HABITS IN SLEEPING . : : : : MAP 1 HEALTH “HABITS IN EATING. : ; Sake ee ee HEALTH HABITS IN DRINKING . j : ‘ F «i £43 THE CHOICE AND PREPARATION OF FoopD . = . . 153 THE CARE OF THE MoutH ; ; :" ‘ : eo THE CARE OF THE SKIN . : : ; ; j oes CLOTHING THE Bopy x ; j ‘ a ? oe A DISEASE CARRIER — THE House FLy . ; : +398 ix x TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I Wuat Goop HEALTH MEANS

WHEN a person is in good health, his whole body is in fine working order. He feels no pains, aches, lameness, or laziness. He feels full of life and vigor. When one does not have good health, the trouble is generally due to lack dh ane of proper care of the body, vither on the person’s health own part, or on the part of some one else.

The rose gardener, who every week in the warm weather loosens the soil about his plants, waters them, weeds them, and keeps them free from insects, will have larger and more beautiful blossoms than if he simply left the roses to do the best they could without any care. His bushes will become so strong and hardy that they can endure the frost and the cold when the winter season comes around. But if they are neglected, they will soon die. : |

Just as with the gardener’s rosebushes, so anyone who takes pains to give his body the right kind of care every day can be strong and hardy. With good health, the body is so full of life and force that it can resist disease, as the strong rose plant can resist the frost.

It pays to have good health. The person who has excellent health will not suffer with headache, toothache, earache, boils, coughs, colds, and other ills. When a boy has something the matter with him every now and then, he misses many pleasures

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2 => a os : y3. > BUILDING. HEALTH HABITS and falls behind j in his work. Think of two persons you know, one of whom has poor health (that is, he has pains or aches of some kind, or he cannot eat or sleep well), while the other has good health. Surely you will find that the latter gets more out of life than the former. Hecan accomplish more with his mind and his body. He can do his work with greater ease. He can earn more money. He will probably live longer. He will be more cheerful and happy. He can therefore give more pleasure and be more useful to the people around him, and he will be more popular with them.

How many of those you know have good health? I once asked eight hundred young women, students in a college,— Good “How many of you feel well all the time?” Only a healthis | few were found who did not have some kind of ache Jace ane pain. What do you think about the health habits of those girls?

Some persons have good health much of the time. Many of us have only a fair average. Ought not every one to aim for a 100% mark in health, as well as in other things? It is quite possible to live so as to keep one’s health sound. When Mr. Roosevelt was President, he asked Professor Irving Fisher, of Yale University, to find out how many people in the United States were sick from diseases that might have been prevented. Investigation showed that there were three million people in the United States sick all the time, and that one half of this number (1,500,000) need not have become ill if they, or some one else, had not carelessly broken the laws of health.

Henry’s father made him a present of a fine new bicycle. Health, the Its wheels spun around like a top. It did not rattle valuable or creak. So long as Henry took good care of his

bicycle, it looked new and fine, and was always ready to give him a good time when he rode it. By and by,

WHAT GOOD HEALTH MEANS 3 he began to neglect his bicycle. He forgot to clean and oil it. It became rusty and dirty. It rattled as it ran. Its wheels turned so hard that it was no longer any pleasure for Henry to ride it.

Our bodies are in some ways like bicycles. With good care they serve us well, and are so full of vigor that work is a pleasure and it is not hard to do our best in whatever we undertake.

“OUR PONY HELPS US TO KEEP FEELING FINE.”

If some one gave you a valuable gift, would you treat it carelessly and spoil it, as Henry did his bicycle? Or would you take good care of it, and keep it sound as long as possible? Do you not think everyone ought to take such care of his body that it will always be in good working condition?

REMEMBER: It is not the weak and the sickly people who win the race, or who have the best time, or who do the most things that are worth while.

1. Think over what you did during the last summer vacation. Count up the number of days on which no pain or ache interfered with your work or pleasure.

2. Can you tell why you were in good health on those days?

3. Looking forward to next summer, would you like to have some “‘off”’ days mixed in with the others? Why not? Give all the reasons you can.

Se 4. Look at the picture of strong children on page 3. Would you rather ok like this or be more delicate looking? Why?

How does good health make one feel?

What will good care do for the body?

Will it pay any one to keep in good health? In what ways will it pay? What loss does bad health cause ?

Do most persons seem to have good health?

Why are so many people sick much of the time?

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Chapter II Health Habits

Or course, you have often watched the building of houses. Have you noticed that the foundations are usually made of many separate blocks of cement or stone well fitted gy. gountogether? Have you ever thought that if some of dations of these blocks were left out in places, here and there, health or were carelessly laid in, the foundation would be so weakened that the house would be in constant danger of falling down?

One’s habits of living are the foundation of good or poor health. Like the well-placed stones in the wall, right habits strengthen and harden the body, while wrong habits weaken it and break it down. Even a single bad habit may keep one in poor health much of the time.

Ten-year-old Bertha loved to read stories. Nearly every night she took papers and books to bed with her, and read for a long time, often for hours after everyone else in the house was asleep. Her mother, who knew nothing of this bad habit, awoke her at five o’clock each morning. Thus Bertha, who needed nine hours’ sleep each night to keep her in good health, often slept no more than five hours. After a time Bertha began to grow thin, to lose her appetite, to have a pain in the back of her head, and to feel irritable and unhappy. Instead of being a help she now became a care to her mother, and an extra expense to her father. Besides, the people around her grew to dislike her because she was peevish and disagreeable.

Health habits have to do with just such everyday matters as sleeping, breathing, eating, thinking, and so on. They have to do also with the way we sit, stand, and move about; with our clothing, and our exercise, and the way we treat the skin, the hands, the teeth, the eyes, and other organs.

We form a habit by doing a thing over and over until it can be done without our having to think about it. What has been Forming done once is done more easily the second time, and still habits more easily each time following. If one starts right, it is quite as easy to form a habit which will count on the side of health as to form one which will count against it.

To form a habit, one must stick to an action until he does it without thinking about it. Doing the right thing one day and omitting to do it the next day is indeed a bad way to live. If a boy every now and then drops a ball of string he is winding, so much string unwinds that he may never get it wound up. So it is with forming habits that will make the body strong, hardy, and well. We must not forget health habits until we have so fixed them that they will work whether we think of them or not.

It is important, too, that we start to form good health habits while young. ‘The earlier we begin, the stronger and more powerful the habits will become as we grow in years. If you start a stone rolling down a hill, it will be harder and harder to stop the farther it gets from the starting point. So it is with a good habit. Is it any different, do you think, with a bad habit ?

Roland and Ruth lived with their parents in a beautiful country home, around which grew many fine trees. The children loved to play in the shade of these trees during the summer time. In the winter, when the leafless branches were covered with icicles or tufts of snow, they thought no fairyland was ever quite so lovely.

_ HEALTH HABITS o.

Being observant children, they had noticed with regret that while most of the trees were straight and graceful, two trees, a rather large one and a smaller one, were so bent Correcting that they were ugly. The children were delighted a habit one morning when they saw some men preparing to straighten the trees. The men drove strong stakes on one side of the smaller tree in such a 3 : way that they could use the stakes to pull it up straight. After much hard work they were able to bring the tree up nearly straight, and then they braced it so that it could not fall back into its old shape. They tried the same plan with the larger tree, but although they worked over it with all their might in every way they knew how, the tree would not yield.

It is much the same with a person who has formed a good or a bad habit. When he has grown accustomed to doing anything either right or wrong, it is about as hard for him to change as it is for an old crooked tree to be straightened. At first the crooked tree was as straight as any of the others, but something bent it just a little, and every time the wind blew, it bent it a little more until it became very crooked. If when it was young an attempt had been made to straighten it, this could have been done easily.

IT IS HARD TO CHANGE FIXED HABITS.

a BUILDING HEALTH HABITS .-

‘You should notice, too, that strong, straight trees cannot be bent when they are grown. They have always kept themselves straight, and their habit of straightness is so firmly fixed that they will always remain so. “As straight as a pine” is a fine old saying.

REMEMBER: When a boy or a girl forms any habit, whether it be a good or a bad one, it is very hard ever to changeit. J¢tis easy to change the course of a small stream, but it is not easy when the stream has become a great river.

1. Describe five acts you can perform without thinking about them while performing them. Why are you able to do them so easily?

2. Describe a habit of your dog or kitten that counts for its health. One that counts against its health.

3. Describe three habits in any person you know (but you need not give the person’s name) that count for health. Also three habits that count against health.

4. Do you know of anyone who occasionally does something he would rather not do? Why does lie do it? |

What are the foundations of good health?

Mention some matters with which health habits have to do. How does one form a habit ?

How can one keep from forming any habit ? When should one begin to form health habits? Is it hard to break a bad habit? Why?

Is it as hard to change good habits as bad ones? 8. Do one’s habits depend somewhat on the kind of companions one chooses? Why?

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Chapter III Health Habits In Standing

Wauat do you think it is that makes such a difference in the appearance of these two boys? Notice that John stands sopaey Standing On both habits feet... He seems tokeep his body erect without trying.

He holds his head up, and his chest out.

Both his _ shoulders are on the same level.

At times, he enjoys expanding his chest as far as he can with long, deep breaths.

His strong, fine carriage makes him look full of vigor, and ready for any game or any task. When I look at him, I feel sure that he is the kind of boy who will do with all his might and with pleasure

WHICH BOY HAS THE BETTER POSTURE?

Io BUILDING HEALTH HABITS whatever he has to do. Notice how easily and naturally he holds himself in this good position. How is he able to keep it without an effort ?

Alfred stoops as he stands. His head droops forward. His back curves outward and his chest inward. One would almost think his chest was behind instead of in front of him. He walks with a careless, shambling gait. He lacks the “readyfor-business’’ air which John has.

If the two boys were seeking a job, which would stand the better chance of securing it? Do you think John’s bearing makes him appear more manly than Alfred? Do you think he could play a better game, or work harder without getting tired ? Why? If they should have a contest of good looks, who would win the prize? The way one holds his body has much to do with his health as well as with his appearance. Why?

At a factory where watches are made, one may see timepieces in great variety. The case of each watch is made exactly the Cramping Tight size and shape to hold its working parts, or thema- machinery. To each part is allowed just enough chinery = space for its own movement. All the parts working together move the hands around the dial. If by some accident the case of a watch should become indented or bent, it might so decrease the working space of some of the wheels that they could not turn easily, or could run only part way around. As a result, the whole machinery would be put out of order, and the watch would no longer keep good time, and would probably stop altogether.

The body resembles a watch in some ways. Within its frame are many delicate working parts with which we breathe, digest our food, and perform other acts which keep us alive and well, and enable us to play, to work, and to enjoy living. Whether the body be that of a baby or of a grown man, nature has pro-

HEALTH HABITS IN vided it with just enough room for each of these vital parts to do its work properly when the body maintains the correct position.

Then if we fall into a bad position, with stooping shoulders and a flat chest (our frame pressing in as dents in a watchcase), then these vital parts may become so crowded that it will be impossible for them to work well, and the whole body will suffer as a result.

When you take hold of your arm lightly, it feels soft. But if The frame- YOU press upon it, you workof then feel something the body hard inside. The soft portion we call flesh; the hard substance within is bone. The framework, or skeleton, as it is called, by which the whole body is supported is made up of bones, together with two other kinds of materials — cartilages and ligaments. Cartilage is another name for gristle, a tough substance which you have probably seen in meat. You can feel the difference between bone and cartilage in the upper and the lower part of your nose. Ligaments are tough cords or bands which hold the separate

STANDING II

Skull

Coe lw ‘

I2 BUILDING HEALTH HABITS bones together. These, too, you may have foundin meat. The skeleton is composed not of one, but of a great many bones, — in all, just two hundred six in number. The points at which the bones join are called joints.

The skeleton has four divisions, the skull (the bones of the head), the trunk, the arms, and the legs. The trunk forms a bony case to contain and protect some of the most important parts of the body. ‘These parts are called organs, as is each other part of the body which does a special work.

The bones are the hardest parts of the body.

When a person is full grown, the bones are very firm and stiff, but in the young child they consist mostly of cartilage. Cartilage is more yielding, and makes it possible for young bones to bend easily.

People often injure a baby by trying to make it sit alone or stand before its bones have become firm enough to support the weight of its body. Bow legs are often caused by letting a child walk while the bones in the legs are still soft.

From year to year as the child grows the cartilage hardens to bone, until when growth is complete the skeleton is mostly firm bone. If bad postures become a habit with growing

Bow LEGS CAN BE AVOIDED. How?

HEALTH HABITS IN STANDING 13 boys and girls, the bones as they harden will become misshapen and deformed. Such boys and girls may have to Habits go through life with crooked bones. Do you know ye any crooked men or women,’ people with stooped work shoulders, or with one shoulder higher than the other, with bow legs, and so on?

There is in the skeleton a long bony column upon which the head is carried.

This is called the spinal column or backbone. It is not a single bone, but is made up of a row of separate, oddly shaped bones arranged one above the other, with cushions of cartilage between.

These bones are so nicely connected that the spinal column can be made to bend with ease in any direction that the movements of the body make necessary. _ Because it can be bent so easily, the spinal column is often made to bend when it should not, or to bend in a wrong way so often that it becomes crooked. Resting the weight in standing always on the same leg, standing with the body bent forward when at work or play, sleeping with the head raised high upon thick pillows, are ways through which

‘FRONT AND SIDE VIEW OF THE SPINAL COLUMN, OR BACKBONE children often grow out of shape. Girls who take care of a baby often cause their backbones to become curved, because they carry thechildon one arm much more than on the other.

Do you use the same arm every day to carry a heavy load of books to and from school? If you do, what may be the result of this on-your own spinal column?

Doing so a few times will result in no injury.. But when the strain from a wrong posture becomes an everyday occurrence, lasting hours at a

X-RAY VIEW OF SPINAL CURVATURE CAUSED BY BAD . Pe, 2 pats time, or when it is often repeated for even a short time each day, then the soft young bones may yield, and deformity may result.

The boy or girl who wants to take the right standing poise may try this plan: Stand against a wall or a door with the heels, To stand hips, fingers, and back of the head touching the wall. correctly. Now roll the head backward so that you can look directly up at the ceiling, letting the chest rise forward but keeping the fingers, hips, and heels hard against the wall. Draw the chin downward and inward, moving the head without changing the position of the chest and shoulders, till you look directly

HEALTH HABITS IN STANDING 15 forward. You are now nicely balanced on the balls of the feet, and you have the poise which, with slight changes, one should keep when standing or walking.

Note how you feel when you are standing in a correct position. Observe that the chest is held well up, while the abdomen is drawn in.

If a person must stand for a long time in one place, he may put most of the weight first on one leg and then the other, thus

supporting the body with | one leg while the other is relaxed. He should be careful to keep a correct poise, instead of allowing the body to take a bad posture. He should make frequent changes, letting one leg relieve the other.

If he has to carry heavy ea things, he should make each arm do its share of the work.

In standing, the weight of the body should rest on the balls of the feet, and not on the heels, and with the toes turned slightly outward. The arms should hang easily at the ‘sides, and the body should be held up straight a croee be stanp, tO its full height. The shoulders should be

isc acainst THE held on the same level. The chest should be

mane high, and the chin drawn in slightly.

No matter what you may have to do, try to keep in the uright attitude. If you stand on the street talking to a friend, or if you stand for recitation in the schoolroom, try to have the feeling of being erect. You will soon get yourself so used to sitting and standing erect that you will establish this health habit, and then constant attention to it will be unnecessary ; but you will have to give careful thought to the matter for a long time.

One day many years ago the writer was walking along the bank of the Nile near Cairo, Egypt. Close by were two little girls playing beside the mud-walled hut in which they lived. Although they were very poor, they seemed healthy and happy. I noticed that one carried on her head a small piece of wood, the other a tin plate. Both were very anxious that the object carried should not _ fall off. I thought perhaps their mother required them to do this for punishment; but my guide told me she had them do it to train them to walk erect so that they might be able to carry burdens upon their heads. In many countries people often carry heavy “T CAN STAND THIS WAY objects upon their heads even for long dis-

FOR A LONG TIME

without Becominc tances. Such people have erect figures.

ary oe Carrying a book balanced on the head is a good way for a person to learn to stand straight and to walk erect.

REMEMBER: That if anyone wishes to have a straight, strong body, he must, while he is young, acquire the habit of carrying himself easily erect.

1. Pick out someone of about your own age who has a very good posture when standing. Describe the way he carries his shoulders, head, chest, etc.

HEALTH HABITS IN STANDING 17

2. Try to see for how many seconds you can continue drawing in your breath when you are standing erect. Try this again when your chest is contracted as is shown in the picture of Alfred on page 9.

1. What is meant by flesh, bone, skeleton, cartilage, ligament, joint?

2. What are the four divisions of the skeleton?

3. What happens to the parts inside the body when one maintains a bad position ?

4. If a person falls into the habit of keeping a crooked position, what happens to him by the time he is full-grown?

5. What is the backbone or spinal column ?

6. How do people get crooked backbones?