A Solemn Appeal - Ellen G. White

appetite, and become gluttons. The mother often
arranges her plans to accomplish a certain amount
through the day, and when the children trouble her,
instead of taking time to soothe their little sorrows,
and divert them, something is given them to eat, to
keep them still, which answers the purpose for a
short time, but eventually makes things worse. The
children’s stomachs have been pressed with food,
when they had not the least want of it. All that was
required was a little of the mother’s time and
attention. But she regarded her time as altogether
too precious to devote to the amusement of her
children. Perhaps the arrangement of her house in a
tasteful manner for visitors to praise, and to have
her food cooked in a fashionable style, are with her
higher considerations than the happiness and health
of her children.
Intemperance in eating and in labor debilitates
the parents, often making them nervous, and
disqualifying them to rightly discharge their duty to
their children. Three times a day, parent and
children gather around the table loaded with a
variety of fashionable foods. The merits of each
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