NEW HEALTH.

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20215, 18 April 1931, Page 17

NEW HEALTH.

VIT4PTY , AND LENGTH OF DAYS. ■■■"" v— > IWBITTXH rOS XKX PMBB.) xtisntY, M.D., F.RiS.B.] eond of -th# articles prepay**! by the group" of men and"' e organising a new Health aleeby a world authority uapeota of sunlight- and fresh clear, in. the, first place,, tot going to discuss any- > w ( to make -big muscles, interesting to ' anybody ittJ-'fltrcajg.ioen. Mnsduthing—a very expensive by the way—and other thing.', M&n have firsthand*; women*' ir longer. lives proyei A* and "woman, in a* word*-~ she '.buries-' him. It <T and * length ot days, Eor our children, ac£ big a reed,?'^ < ia ' mtmi -&t 5 raWn, and the true use to favour it'.oftie; ;body -so that ■ best possible instrument ' >wins. organ-*o* jfco\w~ tp "play upofa 4t

Iji6 baa precious include heilthy b for the- only at bis growing a- grow nothing bristles: by no clj'iadd a ?übit Dtherbrain eelj Etnt the child is ,vital ; a!jd; noble ur " notionsof w saehaa sense j innst bave;^ln m*y 'move , 'different .kinds b We s^all |im „at winning ehodl games or cords is all/very >s : breaking the iearitothe'ei- ' upon it; that oa>many,young for life in ex* 1 to say a word i > t such results jtible hearts of r inUxercise. our minds and* .iming. Indeed, Bee that Nature early.' Children b'ont and chase each other, and gain; and they nd catching % a pr to in aH thisf md stupid view this is original ym to learn by jtenjial psalms, nretation would ay, rehearsal compares, with Btive' co-ordina-and muscles at aims when she Tbe.kjfttenmnsfc ly/and its play children 's r play d balance, and eflex' responses gencies of life* or many years, growing,vtbeji* ions" are alfcers them to conainliness ineana young child's {rise nation will; I . ample spaces, s children 1 * canymnasia . s wheu' uia hava^thelr aniljir'nw/

JCss,for months on end. They tire not having exercise, and leaßt'of aljr.wonjd, we say, that they were doing*, gym-. nasties. Bat old Hippocrates would certainly recognise, real gymnastics, treatment "by~night and air, in their doings, whilst he would be unqiblo t0 guess why wet,, called a closed C room, housing clothed people, a gymnasium at all. Play in the Open Air. The first condition for the best exercise, at any age but especially, for. children, is that it shall be -in »h«j -open air. A better place than the sea-shore there cannot be„ and all ,our 'children | should, have their of It. The air is pure and dust-free, the 'sunlight is unpolluted by smoke, and its precious |.ultra-violet ipys.are reinforced by ra I flection from the water; and the sands 1 are'safe anc'-'soft to fall upon. In suitable weather the children .need wear nothing Jirat 'the scantiest^bathing 'costumes, and there they can play and exercise, their -young bodies , !whilst illustrating the proposition that "Baths of rfater are good, baths of air are better, baths of light are,best."

.. The School In tho Sun. The children at Dr. Bollier V School in the Sun are fortunate also. They are at 'a great, .altitude, but they are using- the characteristic geography tf their country as we, islanders use ours when we 'take our children to-.|he sea. The'children in the Alps are also-in bathing costume, though they are not going into water. In' between their book leßßOifs,- they play games and do concerted exercises to music; and Hippocrates would there - recognise what he called. gymnastlcs.\ -There is little apparatus beyond -skipping ropes, poles and a rope for jumping,-, and a rope ftfr the "tug-of-war, which can be enjoyed for a minute or two, though mere hard pulling is' evidently, on our* principleSi not'„ the best exercise for children. - The best of it all is .like the best> of , what our children, get in the real -gymnasiuin on the . sands —free movement in pure sunlight and clean air.,. "Nor" doe's the music detract from its value, when it is used- far concerted «&dol f solemn. • §<w&slnayiai» origin, frowns .use ofmusiCv in 'gymnastic sUspect- ■ 1 ngfi; apparently, that mhaic ypill element, of'pleasure' ;'whic|; ;'ijS' a;nd 9 tije discipUu;lkwelcpl6<f Abe musiCj eye»;if It be Onlj?; Miß-i '•'

pleasure and the exhilaration of moving to ,it, as adding to the value of the • exercise; It gives, to the gymnastic movements all those merits for mind and, body which yre derive from dancing to music in the open air when we have the rare* chance to do so.

How to Use,, the Parks. Grass and trees make a lovely set* ting- for children's exercise and play.: We do not yet - use our opportunities for our urban children, as- we should. Several years ago the Town Council of Lausanne reserved a portion of the shore of the Lake of Geneva for their school children throughout; August and September, which: are the school holidays. There'those children get everything good for them; and I' have seen the statistical curves which show that' new cases of tuberculosis are ceasing to.apjfear amongst the fortunate school population of, that city. Ever since ''that, date, the Sunlight League, as you know, has urged that the garden 1 squares of London should be thrown open, under suitable supervision, for the school children to exercise' and play, at least during the summer holidays.' Thq inhabitants of the houses •around those .semi-sacred places, even Grosvenor square and Belgrave squara and Cavendish''square, have mostly gone off to Scotland at that time of year to kill something; and the squares should be used to give life to the children who would' otherwise be smothered, stifled and smashed.an ever«increasing numbers )in the dusty and deadly streets of the MAropolis.

£he Smoke Peril. Of course, 'even - the most beautiful of London garden • squares and;, parks do not yet us what they should, whether for children's / classes, or for bathers in the Serpentine, or for folk dancers. We must abolish the plague cloud of smoke; from .our cities,. and thus restore to them the pure air and light of the countryside, where nowa; days,, especially, in the south and on -.the jsea coast, not a few children car 'be. seen, being restored to life anf health and * happiness and usefulness no-less than those in Switzerland. Loo I at, the children at th< H&rjtage Craft * Schools at Cha'iley ii >Sussex-or at their seaside branch 91 l T}demiUs ne*t to Newhaven, or at th< •sftve the > Children's Fundopen-aii schqo}. at Broadstairs,' pnd you will Bej exercise ought to be and what i can do/ not least for those who, neec it 'most, in- our own climate, unspoil ' : byAoitir< urbaa< smoke.

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Sensible Clothing. Not even children, of course, can always take their exercise in bathing costume; and it is worth while reminding ourselves of the principles on which •we should; choose their 'clothes for' them. .These principles apply all the time; but they are most important for exercise and play. Evidently all clothes should >e loose and free, at these times above 11: nothing tight anywhere. Always the neck and throat must be absolutely free: the' ver worst thing we can do is to interfere with breathing when we are taking exercise. And the feet must have a fair cliane and especially, the toes. Np high- heels and plenty of length and breadth. The child is going to be on its toes part of the time and the. shoes must not interfere. Tip-toe exercises are ».ry usefu' for the prevention of flat feet or fallen arches, i as our, American cousins call them; [ but we . must have the right shoes for Such exercises. And the clothes in general must lend themselves to frequent washing, for. we expect and wapt the young bodies within them to perspire freely t»t ti .s. For the opeU air and sunlight, the best textures are very loose and best colour white, for these favour, the reception by the, skin of those precious ultra-violet ray? which make Vitamin D in the skin, and thereby promote the building of

• good bones and teeth from the lime and phosphorus in "the food. The Best Kind of Sport and Exercise. Given the right surroundings and the * right clothes, in■ so far as they must, wear clothes, what are the best .types of exercise for children? Well, on our principles; the kind of exercises done with 'dumb-bells > are* not going,-to be reckoned We are not. anu\ ing at big biceps and; deltoid muscles, i nor- at weight-lifting records, nor' do we desire exercises "which tend ■ to periods l of strain and • fixation whenbreathing is,, arrested. If any part of. the - body is to have our special concern it 1 will ■ be tho muscular wall <d the abdomen rather than the muscles of tho limbs. We know that the abdominal muscles are apt to be neglected in our modern ways of living, anjl that this; neglect favours -constipation, which is a danger and - a menace .'at all ages.' Hence we shall welcome and prefer any kinds of exercise which involve foody-bending. That is one reason why games with moving balls do more for us than, for instance, mere walking. To follow tbe L moving ball we ' • ■ ■ < ' ■ - 1 - ■ 1 ••

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have .to bend the'■body in many , directions. On the whole, lawn tennis ia, I have come to think, an ideal game for, children who are not too young to take an interest in it,'as well &B v for grown-up people. The. movements, jare. free, unconstrained, varied, and involve„ plenty of cpe of the abdominal 'muscles. Nor is there strain such as may be involved when young children play cricket on a full length pitch and with a ball of full weight, -better .suited for full' grown men. Further, I prefer games and exercise which keep ' the chest open and free rather than | which, like hookey, require .that it shall i often bo cramped as the arms, follow I the ball on the ground. Whenever we can, let us encourage children to swim, in the open air, for,' choice. As for our indoor swimming baths, let us glaze them with kinds of glass:which admit, ultra-violet rays; and perhaps equip, them with artificial sublight lamps;? but these can never be . regarded >4B equal to iho light of day. . Kemedial Exercises. Modern experts have evolved ahd devised a large variety of special exercises which meet special needs of y6ung bodies. These are remedial exercises; as, for instance,'' those which correct a twisted spine, or those which strengthen the muscles that support the arch of the foot and thus help to cure .or, prevent flat feet. These remedial exercises, fere not our present - concern, nor am X an authority Upon them; but I, commend their great, value to those who are in charge of children that may need them. It is a delight to witness the results of such exercises in children- who ;have been partially paralysed, for instance,, as one may see ;them, especially, when aided by sunlight, at such places aB Chailey and Alton. The Healthy Child. Most of happily, are concerned only with exercises for normal children, I have tried, in this short paper, to aim not -at . the making of - future Olympic champions—least of all in putting the weight or throwing the discus or tho hammer'; but rather at the harmonious development of well-,, shaped,' full»breathed, bright-eyed, happy?h.earted. human creatures,. not astonishingly powerful ip the mechanic cal sense, but well provided with resistance against /disease or' fatigue, having' sound deep lungs 4 undistorted feet,,moving easily, respond? ttig „ quickly and efficiently to special deswadti made -upon them, and thus ■- c - " * ■ i ' ' ■ k

'' if' /' / 'n J , < worthy to be the vehicles, the semnta, the organs of the mind an<3 tjie soul, which are the noble and „essential elements o£ 1 4 T, K ' >1 v? ' v^<