University of Southern Mississippi - Southerner Yearbook (Hattiesburg, MS)

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iEgP Strain Amnng Qlhilhrrn URING recent years compulsory education, followed by medical inspection, has opened the eyes of patrons and teachers to the fact that many dull children are simply physically defect- ive. Defective vision has hampered school children in their Work more, perhaps, than any thing else. School children with bad eye sight who have been treated as delinquent and have been properly fitted with glasses have taken an interest in the Work and often lead their class. The subject of eye strain among children has been seriously overlooked and We have not been B. F. FERGUSON cognizant of this prevalent malady in the home and school room. It is estimated that twenty-five per cent. of the children in school have defective eye sight, and there is grave reason to believe that the home and school serve, on the whole, to increase these defects instead of remedying them. Many homes are not provided with suflicient light. The children are forced to study by fire or by lamps which are not provided with globes. And in many instances Where globes are not lacking, the lights are not sufficient. The light must be clear and at the same time soft to prevent a glare. The lamp should be so arranged that the rays of light will come from over the left shoulder of the child. In many schools even on the side exposed to the sun, the windows are not pro- tected with shades. And Where shades are provided, they are not adjusted to protect the eyes of the children. In placing the desk, the teacher should see that the children do not face a strong light. Children should not be required to study long Without resting their eyes. They can gist them by taking them off their Work and looking at some distant object for a W 1 e. The type should be large enough for children to read at a distance of eighteen inches at perfect ease. Especially is this true with young children, since their eyes are more easily injured, and excessive strain of the muscle may cause myopia. Attention should also be given to the character of the paper used. The paper should be as dull as possible in order to avoid the confusion effects of the glossy surface. Childrenls eyes should be examined at least once a year by a competent oculist and all children who have defective eye sight should be tested at once. The teachers should test the eyes of the students often, for children may not detect any defect in their eyes in time to prevent serious injury. This can be done by use of test cards which can be had for a few cents. There is nothing about children that should be more carefully guarded than the eye sight. There is nothing that will compensate them for the loss of their sight. Parents, teachers, and physician should all join in a crusade against needless eye strain among the children at home and school. Rankin County B. F. FE RGUSON. 11

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MARY FALCON ER VVayne County fed, then follow the rules. Euhg wrlfarv HREE hundred thousand deaths a year and half of them preventable! Think of it, one hundred and fifty thousand babies in the United States dying each year, that might be saved! Ignorance is responsible for a large part of this needless sacrifice. What is to be done? Teach the mothers what they ought and need to know. Impure milk is the cause of a large per cent of the deaths. Milk, for the Baby, at least, must come from healthy cows and must be handled with the greatest care. Here are aa few rules for obtain- ing pure milk: First, use a small mouthed pail to milk in. Second, sterilize all milk things and dry immediately. Third, cool the milk as quickly as pos- sible after milking and keep it cool. Fourth, the milker must always keep clean. Observe these rules and baby has a chance. In feeding Baby it is always easier to feed him than to hear him fret, but remem- ber more babies are over fed than under fed. Find out how often and learn how your baby ought to be Baby needs clean water as well as clean milk and this is often forgotten. Boil the water and then cool it. Give it in a bottle between feedings. Baby should have a warm tub bath at least once a day. In hot weather a cool, extra sponge helps to keep him cool and fresh. Plenty of fresh air is always needed. During the winter keep Baby in a well ventilated room which is aired at least twice a day and take him out as often as is possible. Let him sleep in the sunshine, well Wrap- ped up in pretty weather. In summer Baby can stay out of doors almost all the time. Keep him out of the hot sun but in the open air. Fresh air rarely harms while foul air always harms. Birth Registration is one of the rocks upon which the Better Babies Movement rests. Mississippi entered upon this forward movement in 1912, and is one of the lead- ing states of the twenty-eight, which have this law. Baby's Welfare is a subject every one is taking an interest in now. The whole country lately observed Baby Week. If you have not already been doing something to help this cause, hurry up and do something. Start a Mother's Club and study about your babies. Read all you can. Have a nurse tell you what she will. Have a Better Babies Contest, and find out just where your baby stands. We are concerned a great deal about better stock, better roads and better farms, but what is more valuable than Better Babies ? Join the nation wide movement and do something to save the Baby. THE MOTHER'S CREED. We believe: ANONYMOUS That God gave us our children as a precious gift! That constant watchful care of them is our full duty: That we should guard well their healthg That we should train them to right livingg That we should give them the best education we can afford: That we should give them much chance to playg That we should pray daily for their welfareg That our deeds should be the right models for them to follow. MARY FALCONER. N

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what Shnulh hr Bun? with thv iipilrptir ? PILEPSY is perhaps the most distressing in its manifestations and render its victim most de- pendent of all recognized deficiencies of the human body. It is a disease which appears in sudden at- tacks, causing convulsions which include the whole or a large part of the body. Epileptics are dull of mind, as a rule, and many are insane. A few are exceptionally bright between attacks. Much has been said as to the causes of epilepsy, but the con- census of opinion of those who have made careful study of this question is: that heridity has something DOVIE FOSTER to do with it, that general bodily disturbances, such Webster County as intoxication from alcohol, lead, morphine, and other narcotics together with general irritability due to local conditions-eye-strain, toothache, intestinal parasites, and nasal growths are all conducive to the development of the epileptic state. A fractured skull sometimes causes epilepsy, in which case, a surgical operation may give relief. In Mississippi today, epileptic children sit side by side with other children in the public schools. It is clear from an understanding of the nature of the disease that the subjects-should not be required to undergo the same mental and physical strain as other children that the excitement coincident with the life and work of the normal child at school is not the best thing for the epileptic. Epileptics create a dangerous atmosphere for normal children, due to the power of suggestion. Think of the effect upon nervous children of seeing an epileptic have a spell at school ! They should not be placed in the insane hospitals, herded with the bunch, because it has been demonstrated that the two classes are not congenial, having a dis- like for each other which sometimes brings serious results. The influence of epileptics is also detrimental to the other inmates for the same reason as it is to normal people. There is no question but that epileptics should be segregated into colonies as is done in many states. lndividualization would greatly aid in the successful treatment of these unfortunates. If segregated into colonies where the sane and insane can be sepa- rated and where medical supervision and care, proper diet, a little work, and regular habits obtain. the life of the epileptic becomes much more bearable and he is in much better condition than where he remains at home. Ohio was the first state to segregate her epileptics when she opened the Galli- polis Hospital for Epileptics in 1891. New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsyl- vania, Indiana, Missouri, Texas, Connecticut, Kansas, and Virginia have since then segregated their epileptics. Unfortunately, Mississippi has taken no steps in this great social movement. Does it not behoove every teacher, parent, and all others who have children under their care, as well as every loyal citizen of Mississippi to agitate the question of segregating our epileptics who have been so long neglected? DOVIE FOSTER. 12