lfare that the
modern woman has acquired, as a result of popular education in these
matters, undoubtedly saves infants' lives and is therefore worth the
price. A secondary result of importance, and one not good, is the added
liability to fatigue and breakdown that the mother acquires. This factor
we meet again in the next phase of our subject, the education and
training of children.

Though the number of children has conspicuously decreased, the care and
attention given them has increased in inverse proportion. The woman with
six children or more turned over the younger children to the older ones,
so that her burden, though heavy, was much less than it may seem.
Further, though she loved and cared for them, she knew far less of
hygiene than her descendant; she did not try to bring them up in a
germless way; and her household activities kept her too busy to allow
her to notice each running nose, or each "festering sore." Not having
nearly so much knowledge of disease, she had much less fear and was
spared this type of deenergization. Her daughter views with alarm each
cough and sneeze, has sinister forebodings with each rash; pays an
enormous attention to the children's food, and through an increasing
attention to detail in her child's life and actions has a greater
liability to break under the greater responsibility and
conscientiousness.

It must be remembered that the feeling of responsibility and
apprehensive attention is not merely "mental." It means fatigue, more
disturbance of appetite, and less restful sleep. These are things of
great importance in causing nervousness; in fact, they constitute a
large part of it.

Perhaps another generation will find that hygiene can be taught without
producing fussiness and fear. Certainly popular education has its value,
but it has a morbid side that now needs attention. This morbid side is
not only bad for the mother but is unqualifiedly bad for the child.

For the child of to-day, the center of the family stage in his
attention, is often either spoiled or made neurasthenic by his
treatment. Either he is frankly indulged, or else an over-critical
attitude is taken toward him. "Bad habits must not be formed" is the
actuating motive of the overconscientious parents, for they do not seem
to know that the "trial and error" method is the natural way of
learning. Children take up one habit after another for the sake of
experience and discard them by themselves. For a child to l