7. [part]
[...] they sit properly at table while eating, do not play with the food nor greedily gulp foods down, which is unhealthy and damaging. The Creator has given us teeth so that we can thoroughly chew meats and that sort of means of nourishment in our mouths before they come to digestion in the stomach. It is also part of the care of the body that children learn to eat properly and smartly follow the admonitions given to them to that end.
8.
Exercising the body is also part of caring for it. When you were small, people used to rock you in a cradle. You were probably also carried or led out into the fresh air. There was a little walk band or a little walker wagon to get you used to walking. After that you ran around in the room cheerfully. Now that you’ve gotten bigger you still like to walk. But you must learn to walk carefully and smartly to stay on your path so that you don’t fall. Because there are examples of children falling on their heads and hurting them or breaking an arm or a leg. But you must learn to walk properly, that is with erect body and upright head and with paces fit to your stature. It is also very important that you not only sit quietly but also that you learn to sit correctly, not only at the table when eating and also in school and at worship [4], but also when doing the jobs you are directed to do. More than once I have seen children who slumped in their seats and let their bodies hang down more on one side than they other and [I have seen] how they grew crookedly. Sometimes the parents or a supervisor send a child to get this or that or to carry away one thing or the other and the child sees something and stands still and look around for it and because of this forget altogether what they were told to do or they do not do it in the time they were supposed to do it. This is not good. It is especially improper for children who want to belong to the Savior to run around wild in the room, on the stairs, in the courtyard or in the street. Likewise yelling, making noise and laughing, alone or with other children. There is always silliness at hand. The dear Savior, Who, as a Human Being, lived through all your childhood years, should be your pattern in all your deportment and through His meritorious childhood He has purchased you so that you may be as He was on earth. Children have all kinds of games, but they mustn’t play them without permission from their parents or supervisors. It can be a useful exercise when they run toward a goal. They can stop when they are tired, without becoming overheated. If they like being with their parents and want to help them out by doing something useful, it will be very conducive [helpful to their development] and if the parents propose something like this, they will do well.
4. Versammlungen = lit. Meetings, i.e. worship services in Moravian parlance
Something
of Bodily Care for Children
Translated by Pastor Roy Ledbetter
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