The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-12-25
Our Little PeOnIe.

During the damp and cold season the
same care should be exercised in protect
ing the baby's shoulders and arms as its
body. If the mother desires to exhibit
her darling's beautiful skin, let her cut
small hole in the dress over the little
ones heart, and when the neighbors
come in she can carry the baby about
and show the skin through the hole in
the dress. This is so near the heart
that the place will not get mischevious-
ly cold but the extremities are so far
removed from the great life and heat
producing apparatus, that they need
much covering.
Before leaving this point, 1 wish to
say word of the dress of children's
legs. While the baby is in the mothers
lap, or until it begins to run alone, it
has abundant skirts, and they are
yard and quarter long but let that
little chap take q step on his own
responsibility, and he will bob those
skirts off Q whole yard the first bob.
And then, lest the skirt, short as it is,
should hang down around his hips and
keep them warm, the vain, foolish
mother puts on stiff skirt and makes
it stick straight out. The legs are left
mostly naked, while the feet are cover
ed With toy stockings and slippers,
thinner than any which the father
woulk dare wear, even for an hour, in
the same pallor or nursery where the
little one, perhaps delicate and croupy,
spends all its time. Little people,
after they begin to run alone, are
strangely neglected in the dress of their
legs. l know of nothing in the whole
range of fashionable absurdities more
cruel and mischevious than this ex-
posure of the legs of children in this
severe climate. A strong man of per-
haps forty years told me that he sup
posed children's legs were exposed in
this way to tougher them. suggested
that it might tougher him to pursue n
similar policy-that the avoidance of
fannels and the use of white linen
pants might do for him, if he did not
exactly fancy the bare legs of his little
son for himself
L shall not insult your common sense
by arguing that young children require
quite as much protection about the legs
and feet as vigorous adults. If they
do not go out doors, they are sure to
become SO delicate that they Will re-
quire quite as much clothing as those
who do go out. And besides that, if in
the house constantly, with open doors,
and the tendency of all the cold air to
fall to the floor, the feet and legs of the
little shaver are in quite cold stratum
of air. If you really wish to know the
temperature of their extremities, put
your hands upon their knees and
calves, and taking off their short cotton
socks and then red slippers, take their
little trotters in your hands, and I ven-
ture that you will dream all the next
night about icicles and thick fiannels.
Little children should, generally speak,
ing, during seven months of the year,
wear at least two thicknesses of knit
woolen about their legs, from their hips
to their feet; while the feet should
have thick wooden hose, with broad
warm, substantial shoes, lined with
wool or fur. And will repeat that
their arms shoold have about the same
protection, and their shoulders up tc
their necks should have at least one
good thickness of woolen.-Dr. Dic
LeaVis.