Childhood.
Childhood is that portion of life extending from infancy to adolescence,
which in boys occurs at the age of fourteen to sixteen years; and in
girls at the age of twelve to fourteen years. In very warm climates
adolescence is reached some two or three years earlier.
Most fortunate the infant who has completed its term of life, thus far,
in accordance with the strictest rules of Hygiene, or the laws of
health.
"In a state of health sexual impressions should never affect a child's
mind or body. All its vital energy should be employed in constructing
the growing frame, in storing up proper external impressions and in
educating the brain to receive them." Unfortunately this state of health
is not always attained. Impressions may be exhibited in these organs at
a very early age either from inheritance, from improper handling or from
some morbid condition of the child that could show itself in no other
organ of the body and which, like morbid conditions in general, make
their appearance somewhere in the mind or body.
SEXUAL PRECOCITY.--Many parents who are most particular in all other
respects, as to the moral and physical training of their children,
imagine there is no need to pay any special attention to the genital
organs. This, however, is a grave mistake and needs our careful
consideration. As is well known, some children evince a sexual precocity
which may lead to very serious results. In these it often happens that
the sexual instinct arises long before puberty; such children, if males,
manifest an instinctive attraction towards the female sex which they
show by constantly spying after their nurses, chambermaids, etc.; by
seeking as much as possible to play with children of the opposite sex
and improperly toying with them. [C]"One case is so remarkable that an
abstract of it may be instructive: M. D----, between five and six years
of age, was one day in summer in the room of a dressmaker who lived in
the family; this girl thinking that she might put herself at ease before
such a child, threw herself on her bed, almost without clothing. The
little D---- had followed all her motions and regarded her figure with a
greedy eye. He approached her on the bed, as if to sleep, but soon
became so bold in his behavior that the girl, after having laughed at
him for some time was obliged to put him out of the room. This girl's
simple imprudence produced such an impression on the child that forty
years afterwards he had not forgotten a single circumstance connected
with it."
[C] Lallemand and Wilson, page 140.
Parents are remarkably careless on this point. They allow children to
play together for hours at a time without the surveillance of an older
person, provided only they are removed from any danger. It is sufficient
to merely draw attention to such a custom as every reflective mind can
easily draw the inevitable consequences. Habits are indulged in and
marks of familiarity shown which should not for an instant be tolerated.
CAUSES which commonly produce sexual impressions on young children are,
allowing them to repose playfully on their belly, to slide down
bannisters, to go too long without urinating, constipation or straining
at stool, cutaneous affections, and worms. Also, thoughtless acts of
elder people which are very frequently more closely observed than is
commonly supposed. The sliding down bannisters produces a titillation
which is agreeable to the sexual organs. Children of both sexes will
constantly repeat this act until they learn to become inveterate
masturbators, even at a very early age.
Among boys a disease called _priapism_ is often developed; this arises
from undue handling of the parts, or from some morbid state of the
child's health. The disorder consists of paroxysms, occurring more or
less frequently, of violent erections of the penis; these sometimes
become very painful and require the attention of a physician. At all
events medical aid should be sought at once, because some functional
derangement is at work which might, if not arrested and cured, give rise
to masturbation. Owing to unknown causes such morbid conditions induce
some little boys to pull frequently at the foreskin of the penis until
their health is seriously impaired; they pine away, lose flesh, and
still continue to worry at the foreskin, till death has been known to
result. These cases require the most careful and skillful constitutional
treatment, until they are cured.
Sometimes, in other cases, the foreskin becomes inflamed, offensive
secretions may form about the end of the penis, etc. All such disorders
should be submitted to a judicious physician at once, to avoid
irritations which might result in a tendency to sexual excitement--a
calamity truly deplorable to the young. The idea which some writers
advance--that a long prepuce (or foreskin) often proves an exciting
cause of troublesome sensations to the boy, is certainly erroneous. So,
too, it is all wrong to state that particular care should be taken to
wash under the prepuce. That this objection in regard to washing is
true, is proved from the physical fact that in a large majority of boys
the orifice of the foreskin is not sufficiently opened to permit of
these washings. And the objection is still further proved by the fact
that all these unnatural secretions, offensive odors, sensations, etc.,
which irritate and worry a boy together with all inflammations of these
parts are soon relieved and permanently cured by the proper medicament.
Needless laving, handling or rubbing the sexual parts should be avoided
as strictly as possible. To show how little good such washings really
do, even though persisted in, I will mention one out of many similar
cases: "In spite of repeated washings every day, a fetid smegma was
deposited in considerable quantity on the glans, causing a tiresome
burning and itching." All such cases are utterly intractable by any
amount of bathing. But the suitable remedy administered internally cures
the trouble permanently in a few weeks and at the same time improves
the general tone and health of the individual. This is so because the
proper remedy removes the morbific cause which produced that condition
of the penis and all concomitant symptoms, at the same time. It must be
remembered that the troubles referred to above come from within, and
that they are but developments of internal morbific causes. In a similar
manner, small pox, measles, chicken pox and all eruptive diseases come
_out_ as products from morbific causes _within_. No sane person ever
thinks of washing off these appearances with the hope of curing the
case!
All our external parts were made just as they should be and they work in
harmony so long as we are perfectly healthy inwardly. Every blemish upon
the skin, even to a wart, has a corresponding morbid influence within,
which can be removed by proper treatment. Let it be remembered then for
all coming time that a little boy's penis is never to be meddled or
trifled with, nor his foreskin, nor the parts about the generative
organs. All unnatural conditions, appearances or sensations require
prompt and proper medical aid. If erections of his little penis occur
during sleep, or if he cannot urinate promptly on rising in the
morning, because of an erection, let these conditions beget an anxiety
for his welfare and at once seek a judicious physician, who will be able
to prescribe a medicament to arrest all further development of sexual
precocity--an affliction so baneful to the young.
A little later in life children are liable to ascarides or seat worms,
called by some "pin worms." No applications, purgatives, "vermifuges,"
injections or other mechanical means should ever be employed to remove
these, as they are of constitutional origin and should be so treated,
until perfectly cured. Removing the worms by irritants or by mechanical
means does not remove the _cause_ of their existence or reproduction in
the body. The dyscrasia that gives rise to these worms, with the
accompanying itching and tickling, is apt to cause a sexual excitement
which may prove more disastrous than the original trouble itself.
Therefore be sure that this affection is treated constitutionally; so
long as the vital forces work in harmonious order, no abnormal
appearances of any kind can come to light, because they do not exist.
From the age of nine to fourteen, boys generally acquire very curious
notions about sexual affairs and are naturally, from what they hear,
desirous of obtaining some idea of sexual congress, a knowledge of
where babies come from, etc. This curiosity, of course, causes the mind
to dwell much upon sexual subjects. I fully believe that good
information will, by satisfying this curiosity, free the mind to a great
extent from sexual thoughts. It is from such very thoughts that boys are
led to play with their sexual organs in secret, and to handle them so as
to excite pleasurable sensations; erections of the penis are thus
produced and finally, by this continual excitation with the hand, the
height of sexual orgasm is reached, ejaculation of semen occurs and
_self-pollution_ is the consequence. This act is called "masturbation"
and becomes a _secret vice of the worst kind_!
Very frequently and to an alarming extent "masturbation" is taught by
older boys, and by young men even, in nearly all our colleges, boarding,
public and private schools, and by companions under the paternal roof.
This act is repeated time after time until the degrading and destructive
(morally and physically so) habit is confirmed. As a result, the boy
grows thin, pale, morose and passionate; then weak, indolent and
indifferent; his digestion becomes impaired, his sleep short, disturbed
and broken; he sometimes becomes epileptic or falls into a state of
marasmus; in any case he is in great danger of being totally ruined
forever.
There is a great difference in boys regarding the formation of these
habits. While some may almost insensibly glide into them, others,
intuitively as it were, turn away from all such temptations and banish
all thoughts of a sexual nature from their minds at once. This is right.
So long as a boy's mind refuses to harbor such baleful approaches, so
long he is safe; but the moment he heeds them and allows them to enter
his mind, that moment he is in danger and will most likely fall into bad
habits. He must strenuously resist all such thoughts and going to his
father or mother tell them about his trials and temptations and strive
to forget them until success crowns his efforts. By persistent efforts,
by repeated prayers to the Lord for help, by reading his Bible and good,
pure stories, by running into the open air and indulging in some useful
occupation or joyous, healthful play, he will eventually conquer them
and thus rise to the dignity of a true man. Sometimes, too, it may be
necessary to consult the physician for help. In addition to the
instinctive shrinking which every right minded person generally feels
from putting ideas of impurity into a child's innocent mind, a parent's
pride leads him to hope that _his_ boy would not indulge in any such
mean and disgusting practices. But, bearing in mind the advice of
Herbert Spencer--"that the aim of discipline should be to produce a
_self-governing_ being," the best advice a parent or guardian can, and
ought, to give, is: do not harbor bad thoughts or feelings about
anything; at once turn them away and think of something else, of
something good, true and pure. Indulge in no hatred or revengeful
feelings towards others; plot no evil things; always be true to your
word, faithful to your duties and charitable to all. Treat everybody
kindly and politely. And further, a child should be _taught_ what
"chastity" really is, instead of leaving him to find it out as best he
may.
It should be clearly explained to him that true chastity requires the
shunning of all indecency and foul language; that he should refrain from
touching his secret parts except when the necessities of nature require
it; that all sexual emotions should be subjugated. When he grows older
every boy should be taught that chastity means continence; and it should
be firmly impressed upon his mind that all lascivious actions are a
drain upon his whole system and weaken the powers which the Lord has
given him to be employed _only_ in the married state. These are
characteristics of a true man and will help him very much to keep out of
sexual difficulties which, as we shall see further on, are among the
greatest curses of life.
The use of tobacco, wine, coffee or tea by children is well known to be
highly injurious. Never allow a child to use either of these--not even
in small quantities. A too common practice in many families is to allow
a little wine at dinner "to assist digestion!" Others allow coffee or
tea, "because my child is so fond of it." "The after-effects of all
these is to disturb the heart, to cause nervousness and irritability,
and _to weaken the sexual organs in a marked degree_. Tobacco
particularly has this last effect in old and young, besides producing
convulsions, a dulled intellect, etc."[D]
[D] Lallemand and Wilson.
Remember where the brain is and the purposes for which it has been
given! Here reside the knowledge and the power to govern all below it.
No matter what the stomach craves or how strongly the appetite begs for
this or that; no matter how much one may be tempted to steal, to lie or
to swear; no matter how much the sexual organs may lead one to think
about or handle them--here is the great and good brain, the home of the
will-power, which says: "Touch not, taste not, handle not." So long as
these commands are listened to and obeyed, one is safe. The desire need
not and should not control the act--but the rational faculty can and
will control, when early taught to do so. The more one is led by this
rational faculty the easier it becomes to follow it, and _vice versa_.
What has been said above regarding the danger of little boys falling
into bad habits applies with equal force to little girls. Do not forget
this. They too may have sexual thoughts, feelings and curiosity, and
care must be taken to keep their minds pure and bodies healthy. They are
also liable to disorders that require prompt and careful attention, such
as inflammations, excoriations, itchings and swellings of the genital
organs with discharges from these parts resembling leucorrhoea. All such
conditions lead them to more or less rub and scratch these parts--which
should never be touched--for relief. Pleasurable sensations are
experienced and then comes masturbation--_a sin chargeable to the
parent_ for not having given the matter proper medical attention.
"Repeated washings" will no more cure these cases in little girls than,
as shown above, will they cure in little boys. All these are but the
outcropping of some constitutional affection and should be treated
accordingly. No applications or medicated washings of any kind should be
allowed. Such external treatment only palliates the suffering for a
little while without removing the disordered vital force that gave
origin to its appearance. This is simply repressed and may react upon
the child and appear in another form tenfold worse than the first. The
passing of urine or fecal matter may (in either sex) cause irritation
and excoriation; this is another sign that all is not right in the vital
forces and should be mentioned to the physician as a sure index that
medical treatment, but not topical applications, is absolutely
necessary. All abnormal appearances, actions and discomforts of the
child, whether mental or physical, should be submitted to an experienced
and judicious physician. A healthy child should be happy and comfortable
in all respects.
A very successful plan for keeping children from vice or vicious habits
is to see that their time is fully occupied with amusements and duties
which interest them. They need a great deal of harmlessly conducted
amusement and--do _not_ strive to "keep them quiet." Allow little boys
and girls to play together, under proper surveillance, and let them be
boisterous if they will; let them romp and run, climb fences, trundle
hoops, jump rope, go to dancing school, participate in military drills,
go coasting and skating, take swimming lessons, etc.
No judicious parents will allow a son or daughter to be alone much; to
seek to be alone is always a bad sign and should be carefully guarded
against without its being known that such precaution is observed.
Furnish them liberally with instructive and innocent story books and let
them read aloud to you or to each other. Take them to walk or ride when
you go, and strive to make companions of them as much as possible,
making whatever sacrifices are necessary to attain this end. Above all,
_encourage their making confidants of you_. Let them feel that they can
come and talk freely on any subject, no matter what its nature may be.
Do this, and you have thrown around them a bulwark of defence that will
withstand the repeated attacks of hosts of evil spirits. When night
comes and they go to bed, let them learn to go to sleep at once; no play
then--they may be read to sleep, but no romping or playing. No strange
children should be allowed to sleep with yours; make them occupy
separate rooms or at least separate beds; be sure that the sleeping
places of your children are sacred to them alone. Nor is it advisable
for children to sleep with a grown person of either sex and particularly
not with servants--all for obvious reasons.
The observance of all these precautions against influences that might
excite sexual disturbance is most sacred in its character and most
needful even in a religious point of view; for there should be
_chastity_ above all things.