It is
as great an offence against a child to starve his mind as to starve
his body, and there is as much danger of reducing his vitality and
putting him at a disadvantage in his lifework in the one as in the
other form of deprivation. There was a time when it was felt that
shelter, clothing, food and physical oversight comprised the whole
duty of a charitable institution to dependent children; to-day no
community would permit such an institution to exist unless it provided
school privileges. An acute sense of responsibility toward children
is one of the prime characteristics of American society, shown in the
vast expenditures for public education in all forms, in the increasing
attention paid to light, ventilation, and safety in school buildings,
in the opening of play grounds in large cities, in physical
supervision of children in schools, and the agitation against the
employment of children in factories, and in other and less obvious
ways.
Children are helpless to protect themselves and secure what they need
for health of body and mind; they are exceedingly impressionable; and
the future is always in their hands. The first and most imperative
duty of parents is to give their children the best attainable
preparation for life, no matter at what sacrifice to themselves.
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