CHAPTER IV. The Child at School. “Come, ye children--I will teach you the fear of the Lord” 131 CHAPTER V. The Child at Worship. “Suffer the little children to come unto Me” 177 CHAPTER VI. The Child at Work for Christ. “I must be about my Father’s business” 221 CHAPTER VII. Appendix The Mother and the Christ-Child. “Behold the handmaid of the Lord” 259 CHAPTER I. THE CHILD IN ITS HELPLESSNESS “The place where the young Child lay.” What do the children need?--“The Age of the Child”--All children to be included--Rights of every child and every mother--Conservation of human resources--Eugenics and heredity--Protection of motherhood--Suffering mothers--Superstitions regarding new-born infants--Twins--Infanticide--Bathing and clothing children--Feeding--Hygiene--Starving children--Infant mortality--Health--Diseases and their treatment--What missions are doing for the helpless children. [Sidenote: What do the children need?] “What do the children of India most need?” The question was asked of an earnest young teacher, at home on her first furlough. It was easy to see how quickly her thoughts flew back to that school for little low-caste children which had so recently been started, and with a far-away look in her eyes she answered:-- “What the children of India need is _childhood_ itself. They are little old men and women, and they need to learn what it means to be happy, care-free children, to play, and to have good times.” “What do the children of Syria most need?” This time it was a beautiful, young missionary mother who answered quickly:-- “The greatest need of the children in Syria is _educated motherhood_. They are born, carried around, and then turned loose to do as they please as soon as they are able to toddle. It would mean that they would be kept clean physically, would be properly fed, taught, and trained.” “What is the greatest need of the children in Persia?” The answer came from a father of little children who had himself been a missionary’s child in Persia and knew well the country and its needs. “What Persian children need is _proper home environment_.” A splendid Christian teacher was talking with one of the boys of our Moslem school about personal purity. “That is all very well,” responded the boy, “but what do you really expect of me with my training and home life when my father has had one hundred and five wives?” “What do the children of America need?”