Читать книгу The House We Live In; or, The Making of the Body онлайн

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“See how this boy’s shoulders are bent forward.”

Percy: I have seen some boys at school bending over their desk when studying and writing. Is that good for the bones?

Mother: No; boys and girls should sit straight, stand straight, and walk straight. If they do not, after a time the cushions between the bones in the spine will grow thicker on one side than on the other, and the back-bone will become crooked. You know soldiers stand erect and have fine forms. How much better this man looks than the one who bends over! Do not form the habit of bending forward while sitting or standing. The one who made the body “made man upright,” and in this he is different from the birds, beasts, or fishes.

Elmer: Can the bones be broken, mother?

“Boys should sit straight.”

Mother: Yes, and it is a sad thing for one to get broken, for it is very painful and takes a long time to heal. Children should be careful when jumping, when climbing trees, or when they go in any place where they may fall and break their bones.