TALKS ON HEALTH

Greymouth Evening Star, 28 February 1931, Page 9

TALKS ON HEALTH

BY A FAMILY DOCTOR

BAD TEMPER AND INDIGESTION

Which came first, the bird or the egg? I cannot tell. But which <;ame first, bad temper or bad indigestion? I should like you to introduce that subject at the next meeting of your debating society. I imagine a great outpouring- of wisdom from the older members of the society, and I should like to have their views. In our dealings with children, it becomes a matter that may. well keep us awake at night. Are we to punish our badtempered children, or are we to tf.ke them to the parson, or to the doctor? There is room for confusion of thought here. What a funny thing it would be if the parson gave the child a rhubarb powder, and the doctor gave him a ten-minutes’ lecture- on self-control and said no medicine was needed! No doubt in the bad old days many mistakes were made, but nowadays it is impossible to _go wrong. This question of physical versus mental disease lias been thoroughly threshed out. No sooner are a young couple engaged than they refrain from going to the pictures in order to study the psychology of the growing mind. On the arrival of their first born the young father and mother are ready, equipped by a. long training for the care of the little newcomer’s body and soul.

BABY’S BAD TEMPER.

Speaking as a doctor of some experience, I may say we all arrive in this world ,in a bad temper. A howl of disgust is the first act of a newborn babe. No one could express on his face a more determined contempt for this world than a baby. He screws up his nose and his mouth; he clenches his little fists in a vain attempt to punch the world on the nose; he even lashes out blindly with his toes in the hope of catching someone on "the shins. It is pleasant to record that the young man sobers down in a, few hours. 'Finding that nothing is expe.cted of him but to sleep and eat, he relents and becomes more placid. But never forget, ye parents and nurses, that the bad temper is lurking somewhere and will require watching. Do you ever stop to think what heredity means? Like father, like son. May I implore you to cultivate your own self-control before you tackle your little son? There are several reasons for cultivating a good temper, but the most important is to set a good example to your children. It is a dreadful thing when the neighbours say, “It would be the best plan to take away those children from their bad-tempered father.”. Why cannot you all be like me, always smiling ? (My wife, generally corrects these articles for me, but she is not going to see this one). I reckon it costs £3OO a year to have a bad temper. A man with a bad temper ought to be sent to the isolation hospital until he is better; he infects others.

CAUSES OF BAD TEMPER.

But- why are we bad-tempered? Well, consider this for a moment. We human beings have been on the earth for millions of years—no one knows how long; every new discovery seems to push the date back. There has never been a time when all the humans were killed oft' and a • fresh start made. We have gone on, generation to generation, from the dawn of creation. Little doubt can be entertained that our distant ancestors were savage, uncouth, like animals. Now cast your mental gaze ahead for as many million years as you have just cast it back. Have you any doubt that the earth will be a paradise? I am a great believer in the Millennium. It is a slow job, but we shall in the end work out our salvation. One day we shall have a world where there are no doctors; because no doctors are needed in a disease free planet. These noble speculations about our future are good for us; they enlarge our mental horizon. We ought to think more about these things.

HOW LONG WILL IT BE?

The question for us is: How long will it be? I think it depends on ourselves. Hard work will do it; study of child life will help; the early teachirig of even infants that bad temper is wrong will assist. Remember that a baby of four weeks knows the meaning of the word “No.” Bad tempermakes us ill. We have had epidemics of strikes, epidemics of influenza, now an epidemic of bad temper. 1 cannot stand it much longer. Nervous diseases are cm the increase, and chiefly because the cave man holds sway in our hearts. 1 have appointed a powerful committee to deal with this subject. The committee consists of one man and that man is myself. I propose, by my own. unaided efforts, to abolish bad-temper and all it& attendant ills, simply by writing m this paper,