SOMETHING ABOUT BABIES

A child's first right rs to be well born, of parents sound in body and mind, who can boast a long line of ancestors on both sides; an aristocracy, based on the cardinal virtues of purity, chastity, sobriety, and honesty.

If the thought, the money, the religious enthusiasm, now expended for the regeneration of tlie race, were wisely directed to the generation of our descendants, to the conditions and environments of parents and children, the whole face of society might be changed before we celebrate the next Cen> tennial of our national life.

All religious, educational, benevolent, and industrial societies combined, working harmoniously together, can not do as much in a life-time of effort, toward the elevation of mankind, as can parents in the nine months of pre* natal life. Locke took the ground that the mind of every child born into the world is like a piece of blank paper, that you may write thereon what- ever you will ; but science proves that such idealists as Descartes were nearer right when they declared that each soul comes freighted with its own ideas, its individual proclivities; that the pre*natal influences do more in the form- ation of character than all tlie education that come after.

Let the young man, indulging in all manner of excesses, remember that in considering the effect of dissipation, wine, and tobacco, on himself and his own happiness or misery, he does not begin to measure the evil of his life As the Higii Priest at the family altar, his deeds of darkness will entail untold suffering on generation after generation. Let the young woman with wasp-like waist, who lives on candies, salads, hot brea<l, pastry, und pickles^ whose listless brain and idle hands seek no profitable occupation, whose life is given to folly, remember that to her ignorance and folly may yet be traced the downfall of a nation.

One of the most difficult lessons to impress on any mind is the power and extent of individual influence; and parents above all others, resist the belief that their children are exactly what they make them ; no more, no less; like producing like. If there is a class of educators who need special prepara- tion for their high and holy calling, it is those who assume the responsiiiility of parents. Shall we give less thought to the creation of an immortal being than the artist devotes to his statue or landscape^ We wander through the art galleries in the old world, and linger before the works of the great mas- ters, transfixed with the grace and beauty, the glory and grandeur, of the ideals that surrriund us; and, with equal preparation, greater than these are possible in living, breathing humanity. The same thought and devotion in real life would soon give us a generation of saints, scholars, scientists, and

542 SOMETHING ABOUT B.LBIES

statesmen, of glorified humanity; such as the world has not yet seen. To this hour, we have left the greatest event of life to chance, and the result is the blind, the deaf and dumb, the idiot, the lunatic, the epileptic, the crim- inal, the drunkard, the glutton — thousands of human beings, in our young republic, that never should have been born ; a tax on society, a disgrace to their parents, and a curse to themselves.

Well, born — a child's next right is to intelligent care. If we buy a rare plant, we ask the florist innumerable questions as to its proper training; but the advent of an immortal being seems to suggest no new thought, no . iixious investigation into the science of human life. Here we trust every iiiing to an ignorant nurse, or a neighbor who knows perchance less than we do ourselves.

Ignorance bandages the new-born child, as tight as a drum, from arm* pits to hips, compressing every vital organ. There is a tradition that all infants are subject to colic for the first three months of their existence ; at the end of which time the bandage is removed, and the colic ceases. Reason suggests that the bandage may be the cause of the colic, and queries as to the origin of the custom, and its use. She is told, with all seriousness, '* tiiat the bones of a new-bom child are like cartilage, that, unless they are pinned up snugly, they are in danger of falling to pieces." Reason replies: *' If In- finite Wisdom has made kittens and puppies so that their component parts remain together, it is marvelous that He should have left the human being wholly at the mercy of a bandage ; " and proposes, with her first-born, to dis- pense with swaddling bandages, leaving only a slight compress on the navel, for a few days, until [)erfectly healed.

Ignorance, believing that every child comes into the world in a diseased and starving condition, begins at once the preparation of a variety of nos- trums, chemical and culinary, which she persistently administers to the struggling victim. Reason, knowing that after the fatigue of a long and perilous march, what the young soldier most needs is absolute rest in some warm and cozy tent, shelters him under her wing, and fights off all intruders, sure that when he needs his rations the world will hear from him. His first hath should be preceded by a generous application of pure, sweet olive-oil, from head to foot, in every little corner and crevice of his outer man ; and then he should be immersed in warm soap-suds, so nearly the temperature of the body as to cause no shock. Great care should be taken that neither oiV nor soap touch the eyes. The room should be very warm, all drafts ex- cluded ; and on emerging from the tub, a hot soft-fiannel blanket should be closely wrapped around him, in which he may rest awhile before dressing. The softest garments, simply made, and so cut as to fasten round the throat and rest on the shoulders, should constitute his wardrobe ; eschew all bands, pins, ligatures, ruffles, embroidery, caps, socks, etc.

Let the child's first efforts at foraging for an existence be at his mother's breast; there he will find the medicine he needs, and just what she needs, too, to dispose of.

The child's mouth and the mother's nipples should be carefully washed

SOMETHING ABOUT BASTES. 543

before nursing; thus, much suffering, for both mother and child, will be prevented.

"Give the baby water six times a day/' was one of the most important messages ever sent over the telegraph wires to a young mother.

Ignorance bathes lier baby on a full stomach, because hhe finds it will go through the ordeal of dressing more quietly ; Reason bathes hers two hours after feeding, knowing that the vital forces needed for digestion should not be drawn to the surface. Being constructed on the same general plan with its parents, the same principle that makes it dangerous for u man to go swimming immediately after eating, makes it equally so to put a baby in its tub after nursing.

Though Ignorance eats her own meals regularly and at stated times, she feeds her baby at all times and seasons. If the child has colic from over- eating, or the improper diet of its mother, she trys to ally its suffering with additional feeding and vigorous trotting; not succeeding, she ends the drama with a spoonful of Mrs. Winslow's soothing syrup; having drugged the senti- nel and silenced his guns, she imagines the citadel safe. Reason feeds her baby regularly, by the clock, once in two or three hours, and gives the stomach some chance for rest She prevents colic by regulating her own diet and habits of life, knowing that improper articles of food, and ill-nature or outbursts of passion in the mother, have cost many a baby its life.

Ignorance, having noticed that her baby sleeps longer with its head cov- ered, uniformly excludes the air. Breathing the same air over a dozen times, it becomes stupefied with the carbonic-acid gas, is thrown into a pro- fuse perspiration, and is sure to catch cold on emerging from the fetid atmos- phere. Reason puts her child to sleep, with head uncovered, in a spacious chamber, bright with sunlight and fresh air; where, after a long nap, she will often find him (as soon as he is old enough to notice objects) looking at the shadows on the wall, or studying the anatomical wonders of his own hands and feet, the very picture of content.

Regular feeding, freedom in dress, plenty of sleep, water, sunlight, and pure air, will secure to babies that health and happiness that in nature should be their inheritance.

"Seeing that the atmosphere is forty miles deep, all round the globe," says Horace Mann, "it is a useless piece of economy to breathe it more than once. If we were obliged to trundle it in the wheel-barrows, in order to fill our homes, churches, school -houses, railroad-cars, and steamboats, there might be s©me excuse for our seeming parsimony. But as it is we are pnxli- gals of health, of wliich wo have so little; and nij^jranls of air, of which wo have so much." — Mrs. Elizabeth Cady iUiuiton^ New York,

Great care should be given that children are not fed with milk that has been turned by a thunder-storm. The chemical change is rapid, and extra caution is necessary.

GiNQSk-BREAD made from oatmeal instead of flour is a good aperient for children.

544 SOMETHISG ABOUT BABIES,

Parents should teach their children to gargle their throats, for it may be the saving of their lives. It is easier to teach them this difficvilt and awkward feat in health than when prostrated by disease.

To PREVENT A CHILD COUGHING AT NIGHT, boil the Strength out of ten cents worth of "seneca snake-root" in one quart of soft water; strain through a cloth, boil down to a pint, add one cui> powdered sugar made into a thick molasses. Give one tea-spoonful on going to bed.

Children arf often troubled with ulcers in the ears after scarlet fever and other childreif s diseases. Roast onions in ashes until done, wrap in a strong cloth, and squeeze out juice. To three parts juice, add one part laudanum and one part sweet-oil, and bottle for use. Wash ear out with warm water, shake bottle well, and drop a few drops into the ear.

For sore mouth in NuiisiNo babies, take a tea-spoon each of pulverized ulum and borax, half a sult-i«poon of pulvl>rized nut-gfiUs, a table-spoon of honey; mix, and pour on it half a tea-cup boiling water; let settle, and with a clean linen rag wash the mouth four or five times a day, using a fresh piece of linen every day ; or simple borax water is equally good. Half an even tea-spoon powdered borax in two table-spoons soft water is strong enough.

A LUMP OP SUGAR, Saturated with vinegar, will stop hiccough when drink- ing water will not. For babies, a few grains of sugar will often snlfice. Care must be taken in giving sugar to nursing babies, as it is constipating! Dio Lewis says feather pillows are death to children. Make them oi straw or hair, and not too large.

To cure the EARACHE, take a bit of cotton batting, put ujwn it a pinch of black pepper, gather it up and tie it, dip it in sweet-oil, and insert it into the ear. Put a flannel nandagc over tne head to keep it warm.

Probably nine children out op ten who die of croup might be saved by the timely application of roast onions, mashed, laid upon a folded napkin, and goose-oil, sweet-oil, or even lard, poured on ana applied as warm as can be borne comfortably to the throat and upper part of the chest, and to the feet and hands, or the onions may be sliced, boiled soft in wate^ until almost dry, grease added, and cooked in the grease until browned.

Let nature wake the children ; she will not do it prematurely.. Take care that they go to bed at an early hour — let it be earlier and earlier, until it is found that they wake up themselves in full time to dress for breakfast!

Just bepore each meal let a child have some ripe fruit or some fruit eauce. Apples and berries are wholesome. Oranges should never be given to children unless the skin and the thick white part underneath the skin and between the quarters is all carefully removea.

While the baby is down for a creep, draw little stocking legs over his arms, and secure them by a safetv-pin.

See that a child's food is well cooked. Never give a child new bread. Always insist that a child tlioroughly masticate his food. Avoid too nour- ishing a diet for a child of a violent, fretful temper. Give a nourishing diet to a pale, white-looking, delicate child. Both under-feeding and over- feeking are apt to produce scrofula or consumption. Carefully study a child's constitution, digestive powers, teeth, strength, and endeavor to pro- portion to these the kind ana the quantitv of its food. Sweetmeats and confectionery should only be given to children very sparingly, if at all. Never pamper or reward a child with them. A child should never be al- lowed to go to sleep with damp, cold feet. Neglect of this has often re- sulted in dangerous attacks of croup, diphtheria, or a fatal sore throat Always on entering the house in rainy, muddy, or thawy weather, the child should remove its shoes, and the mother should herself ascertain whether the st/>ckings are the least damp. If they are they should be taken off, the feet held before the fire, and rubbed with the hands until perfectly dry, and dry stockings and shoes put on.

'Dr. Osgood recommends as a night suit for children a single garment^

SOMETHISQ ABOUT BABIES, 545

ending in drawers and stockings. Over this, in cold weather, may be worn a flannel sack. At severe seasons, instead of putting an extra coverlet on the bed, he advisee the use of a large bag, made or a light blanket, in- to which the child may be securely placed, and closely buttoned around the neck. Light coverings generally are preferable to heavy ones, if the night-clothing and the room are sufficiently warm, as they do not induce perspiration nor check exhalations.

Eating snow, except in very limited quantities, is very injurious, produc- ing catarrh, congestion and many other troubles.

Jumping the rope is an injurious and dangerous amusement, often re- sulting in disease of the spine and brain.

For worms, give rue tea; for colic, catnip tea.

Never let the little children go out of doors in winter without being warmly clpd. They lose heat rapidly, and easily contract throat and lung affections. Every child should have full suits of underclothing; and espe- cially let the legs and ankles be well ' protected with thick stockings and lemngs.

Bathe children in the forenoon when possible, or, if not too tired, an hour before the evening meal ; never for at teast an nonr after eaiina. When possible bathe before an open fire or in a warm room near, and rub dry oefore an open fire. It is injurious to bathe cliildren on rising before break- fast, especially in cold weather. Washing the face, neck, and hands, and dressing, is enough before refreshing the body by eating.

Great care must be taken that the navel of infants takes its proper place. If not attended to it is likely to puff out and produce a breach. It it shows any signs of protruding, round a piece of cork into a ball as large as a large marble, cover with linen, and lay over the navel, fastening it to ita place by six or ei^ht strips of adhesive plaster. Let it remain for a month or six weeks, as it will cause no inconvenience.

If a scurf or milk-crust appears on the head, do not apply water, but brush often gently with a suft baby's brush.

For constipation, bran water is an excellent remedy. Boil two table- spoons bran in a pint of water for two hours, strain and use as food. It must be made fresh every day, and the fresher the better.

No child should go to bed hungry, but food taken near the hours of sleeping should be of the simplest nature, — a cracker, a bit of bread, or a glass of milk.

A BABY should SLEEP ON ITS SIDE. When lying on its back the food sometimes rises in its throat and chokes it

Great care should be taken to shade a baby's eyes from the light If a strong light shines directly in its face, it often produces ophthalmia, an intianiination of the eyelid.^, which is troublesome and dangerous. A few drops of breast-milk, applied to the eye and worked under the lid, is very healing to sore lids.

Some babies' skink will not bear flannel. In this case a linen shirt should be put on first, and flannel over it.

When chafed, squeeze cold water over the parts chafed. Dry lightly without rubbing, and a]>ply vaseline or cold cream.

In cleansing the ear, penetrate no deeper than you can clearly see. Never scratch or inflame the entrance to the ear. The ear-wax is not dirt, and should not be removed, at lea.st only that portion wliich is plainly visi- ble should be di.sturbed. Pins and scrapers inserted in the ear are injurious. The wax will find its way out when too much is accumulated. Scraping produces irritation, discomfort, and calls for a repetition, which, after a time, produces disease. Sweet-oil, glycerine, etc., are apt to clog the ear and produce inflammation. Syringing the ear with tepid water relieves itching. If cold air gives pain a little wool, placed in the ear while out of doors, will protect

546 SOMETHING ABOUT BABIES.

Always hold a baby with feet next the fire, when sitting in a room with a fire in it. The old adage, '* Keep the feet warm and head cool," means a good deal.

If the children who attend school are puny and do not seem to thrive, take them away from school. Give the child a robust body, whether he is at the head or tail of hi.s cla«*.

Don't give the babv cordials, soothing syrups, and sleeping-drops. Touch lightly uaregoric. All such things injure Ihe constitution of the child.

The New York Sun say.w : " The pain of teething may be almost done away, and the health of the child benefited, by giving it line splinters of ice, picked off with a pin, to melt in its moutli. The fragment is so small that It is but a drop of warm water before it can be swallowed, and the child lias all the coolness for its feverish gums without the slightest injury. The avidity with which the little things taste the cooling morsel, the in- stant q^uiet which succeeds hours of fretfulness, and the sleep which follows the relief, are the best witnesses to this magic remedy. Ice may be fed to three months' child this way, each splinter being no longer than a com- mon pin, for five or ten minutes, the result being that it has swallowed in that time a teaspoonful of warm water, which so far from being a barm, is good for it, and the process may be repeated hourly as often as the fret- ting fits from teething oegin "

It is not necessary to w-hoily exclude the light from the room when the bal)e is born. The admission of sunlight should be regulated : but a soft and pleasant li^ht is a benefit to both mother and child. The oabv should not be carried into a glowing sunshine, but should become gradually accus- tomed to the light.

For restlessness or colic in children, give a warm bath at bed-time, dry quickly with soft towels, and rub well with the hand ; dress loosely, wrap in flannel blanket, warm and lay away to sleep.

For colic, give three or four swallows of warm water; place one hand on 8tomacli and one on back, and give a lively trotting. This is better than a barrel of soothing syrup. If one ** trip to Boston*' on tlie knee will not do, try two, or three even, with a drink of warm water before starting. For Bore mouth or constipation, give three or four good swallows of cold water the first thing in the morning. This is both a preventive and a cure.

OxE of the best remedies for chafing is cocoa outter, which may be had in cakes, at any drug store. Warm slightly, if necessary, and apply to the chafed parts. Cocoa butter is also excellent for greasing in scarlet fever. Among the old-fashioned and good remedies for the same purpose is t^e fjitty inside of the rind of a piece of smoked ham.

For colds, hoarseness, or indications of croup, slice raw onions, sprinkle with granulated sugar, let stand until the juice is extracted (to hasten the flow of the juice, place in heater for a few moments), pour off juice, and give a teaspoonful every hour, or oftener if the case is severe.

Gre\sin({ the navel, bowels, and up and down spine, at night before going to bed, promotes regular action of the bowels, and cures constipation.

If injections are necessary for babies, warm water with a very little pure snip dissolved in it is better than inserting a piece of hard soap, as is oft'Mi done. Small syringes with flexible tubes, are now made, and are much safer than the old form of syringe.

Sweet flag, which may be obtained in a dried state at any drug store, is an excellent remedy for colic in children. Make a mild lea of it, sweeten, and give a teas])oonful whenever there are signs of trouble coming on.

For teething children, an ivory ring, a silver dollar, or some similar article should be provided for them to bite on. Give plenty of pure water to drink. Or dip the end of the finger in cold water and rub the inflamed gums.

In washing children, do not let the water run into the ears. Children should never be washed in a careless, slipsho<l manner. The excretions

SOMETHING ABOUT BABIES, 547

and the exhalations of the skin are often acrid enough to produce great irritation and suffering, and careful washing, with liberal enough use of water to insure cleanhness, and a rapid and thorough drying, removing every particle of moisture in all the crevices of the skin, and that with a

fentle hand. Use as litcie soup us possible, and that the finest kind, and e sure to wash it off thoroughly with pure soft water. After the surface is well dried, any harmless powder, such as corn starcli, may be used to prevent chafing.

In the case of a sick child, if the skin is tender when there is pressure^ wash with diluted camphor water. Sick children should not lie long in one position, and the bed should be as smooth as possible. If there is any dis- ease in the head, a pillow of finely shredded corn-husks should take the place of a feather pillow. Cool, salt-water baths remove the prickly heat that is so annoying in summer.

The warm bath, the water being at about the same heat as the surface of the body, is best for young children. As they grow older the bath may be made cooler.

Always be able to have a fire in at least one room in the house, even in the warmest setLSon, if there are children in the family. In the Northern States there is rarely a month in the vear during which there is not an occasional day or evening when fire woul^ be beneficial.

Children should always play on the sunnj'' side of the yard. or street in cold weather. The sun-warmed air is what they need. Children less than four years old ought not to play out of doors when the thermometer ranges lower than 25° above zero.

To ventilate apartments without causing a draft, raise the lower sash four to six inches, and place vmder it a board perfectly fitted to the casing, so as to shut out all air. The cold, outside air then passes upward between the sash, to the u]>per part of the room, and is diffused without causing a draft. The night air is not objectionable, except in malarious regions. Indeed, in cities, tlie night air is i)urer than what is abroad by day. In the hot season, children should be kept out of the sun after ten o'clock, and may sit up lat€r than usual at night to enjoy the cool evenings. Excessive heat is as fatal as excessive cold. Keep the baby cool by baths, but never put it to sleep in a room from which the sunshine is constantly kept. No room can be wholesome where sunshine is never admitted.

AUNT Martha's prescriptions.

Give a babe, one to four weeks old, two teanspoons saffron tea (made by simmering a teaspoon dry saffron in half a teacup water), once every other day.

If troubled with colic, give catnip tea (simmering half a tea cup of cat- nip in boiling water to cover, strain and sweeten) every night before the time for colic to come on. Catnip should always be gatliered when in bloom, and before dog-days: then dry in the shade. When dried, place in a jiaper sack, and hang in a dry. cool place.

One tea-spoon of pure castor oil given to a new-born babe is excellent to carry off the phiegm that usually troubles it.

Babes from one to six month's old can safely be given two teaspoons of castor oil at a time, when suffering with a cold. Mixing a teaspoon oi Orleans molasses with it will prevent jyriping.

A CHILD ten inoTiths old, if choked with a bad cold, will be speedily re- lieved by taking three teaspoons of pure castor oil. Cliildren are differently affected by tlie oil, so it is safe to begin with one teaspoon of castor oil, and increase if needed.

In scarlet fever, the first symptoms being like a severe cold, treat it in the same way; keep the bowels open with castor oil, grease the throat, breast, and back with pig's-feet oil, goose grease, lard, or smoked ham rinds, or the fryings of salt pork or bacon. Grease very thoroughly. If the throat is

548 SOMETHING ABOUT BABIES.

sore, chop fat salt pork and raw onions tofrether, like hash, put them in a sack, warm a little, and* tie round the throat Change this {poultice when needed, but keep it on until the throat is entirely well. This poultice is much Ijetter than those made of hot water, as there is no danger of taking cold in changing it.

To prevent catching conta^ous diseases, put a small lump each of camphor gum, urimstone, and assafetida in a little sack, and tie around the body with a tape.

Ax excellent cough remedy is made as follows: Take enough of horehound to 111] u three pint cup, iM)ur soft water over it until full, let it simmer until all tlie strength is extracted (keep the tin full), then strain ; to three pints of this tea add a pint of pure whisky and enough of loaf sugar to make a .yrup ; dose, tablespoon half hour before eating, and the last thing before n*tirinp:. This renu'dy and dose is for an adult.

A (iooD remedy forcohc is tincture of assafetida; take a lump the size of a hulled walnut, cover it with an ounce of pure whisky (in fourteen days it is tincture, but in a few days it will be strong enough to use). Begin with one drop in sweetened water, if the child is very young, and increase as re-

?uired. Give this U) the child an hour before the time for the colic to begin, f a child is given this, as it grows older, each morning a few drops, it will not be troubled witii worms.

In croup, redden tbo throat and chest by rubbing with a mixture of one- half tablesptK)n each of camphor and turjKjntine and one tablespoon each of coal oil and sweet oil. Wet a warm flannel with this, and apply to the throat and neck for a few minutes, watching closely so as to remove it when the skin is well reddened. No time can be given, as some skins are more sensitive than others. This outward irritation tends to prevent croup.

For worms in children (these do not appear until after the child begins to eat other food than its mother's milk), give one-eighth of a teaspoonful of santonin mixed with a little sugar and a drop or two of w^ater, once every three hours ; continue for six doses. Follow with a dose of castor oil to which has been added five drops of spirit of turpentine. The above is a dose for a child of one year old; for older children, Increase the dose some- what Pumpkin-seed tea is also a grmd remedy for worms, and entirely harmless. All remedies for worms must be taken on an empty stomach.

LroKiLY for the rising generation, fashion recognizes the necessity for pro- tection of the neck and arms of infants, and while the infant wears long slips the feet are fairly well p<x>tected in the summer, but if thev seem in the least cold to the hand, soft woolen socks should be put on. When short clothes are ]»ut on, longer socks should take the place of the short ones. No pains should be spared to keep the legs and feet warm in both summer and winter. *' Keep the feet warm and head cool," is an old but wise maxim. If the oj)posite condition exists, look out for serious illness. In winter let the baby wear warmly lined shoes, chosen for comfort and not for show. Tlic care of the extremities is very important, and the baby should never be allowed to go with cohl hands. The baby creeping alx)ut and the child- ren playing on the tltK>r. are ex])r)sed to all the drafts that enter through the crevices of the walls. The cold air immediately seeks the floor, and a grown person has only to lie <lown on the cariK't in the vicinity of a window or door to be convinced of the source of many a cold and sore throat Weather- f^trips, in r(H)!iis where children play much, are useful; in their absence, paste a strip of paper across where the lower siush tils into the casing, and get ventilation by the up]>er8ash. If doors swing inward, a heavy rug may be placed against it outside, or an old garment. Add to all these precau- tions warm clothing. Wiien children are large enough to play out of doors in cold weather, good woolen leggings should be worn. In rainy weather, the light gos.samer rubber cloth, winch may be Ixmght by the yard and made at home, nitdtes excellent protection from wet, and yet