Exactly as hygienic measures are helpful in the cure of indecision in adults, so are they helpful to prevent the development of indecision—and bashfulness—in children. Parents will do well to bear this in mind. But, as in the prevention of selfishness, jealousy, and so forth, reliance on hygienic measures alone is not enough. It is all very well to see that children get plenty of good food, abundant muscular exercise, and much life in the open air. This is excellent and necessary. Also, however, they must be given wise moral training—training that will make it habitual for them to think and act vigourously, to keep their emotions well in hand, to be interested in much besides themselves, and to develop the feeling of self-confidence and the spirit of initiative.
Now, let us turn to still another preventable and serious life handicap having its origin in the days of childhood—the handicap of stammering.