PROPER CARE OF THE BONES
PROPER CARE OF THE BONES
ELEN: What’s the matter with this house, mother? It seems to be all out of shape.
Mother: Perhaps it is very old and the frame has decayed so it leans far over to one side. It is unsafe to live in such houses, for they may tumble down if a strong wind comes along. I have seen some body-houses which look very much like this to me. Here is one of them. See how this boy’s shoulders are bent forward, and his whole body is wrong. If some disease, as consumption, should come along, like a strong wind, I fear his house would go down. Some one should say to him, “Straighten up, young man; throw your shoulders back, and you will look more manly and will live much longer.”
“See how this boy’s shoulders are bent forward.”
Percy: I have seen some boys at school bending over their desk when studying and writing. Is that good for the bones?
Mother: No; boys and girls should sit straight, stand straight, and walk straight. If they do not, after a time the cushions between the bones in the spine will grow thicker on one side than on the other, and the back-bone will become crooked. You know soldiers stand erect and have fine forms. How much better this man looks than the one who bends over! Do not form the habit of bending forward while sitting or standing. The one who made the body “made man upright,” and in this he is different from the birds, beasts, or fishes.