The Hawaiian gazette., 1878-09-18
The Care of Children.

There is so much good sense and sound phi
losophy in the following Letter to Mothers"
which we clip from The Household, Supple
ment to the Detroit Free Press, one of our most
valued exchanges, that we feel we are discharg-
ing sacred duty by re-publishng it. The re-
sponsibility devolving upon mothers, in the
proper care and management of infants, is SO
great, and the consequences so momentous to |
the rising generation. that any hint that can be
given to enlighten them on SO important a SUBJ
strike the intelligent, conscientious mother with
force aud direct her attention to the care and |
culture, both mental and physical of her offspring
To all such we commend the following article
During the first week of Its life an infant passes
the greater part OF its time 10 sleep. 1t awakes
to satisfy the distinctive calls for food and sleeps
again. Alter few weeks the child remains |
awake for longer periods, and finally the waking
hours equal the sleeping. The sleep of infants
should be the result of natural tendencies to re-
pose, ana not the result of the administration of
opiates. The mother or nurse often use this
means of securing quiet on the part of the infant,
and often simply that society may claim some
moments that are the property of the infant.
The infant requires soft, warm couch with
sufficient covering to protect it from even the
slightest impression of cold. The covering should
not be so great in quantity or weight TO press
too heavily upon the infants body. 1t used to be
the custom more than now to bury an infant in
feather bed, where it would perspire and worry
until its strength was gone, when it would sleep
through sheer exhaustion. More colds are caused
by using too much bed covering than by using
Ia. = -
taken into bed with the mother but the sooner
it be allowed to occupy bed by itself the better
it will be for it. | sometimes think that rockers
to cradle are injurious; surely some mothers
make them positive injury. These the
mothers who for divers reasons wish their infants
to go to sleep that they may be out Of the way
for time. Then it is that the poor babe is put
into the cradle and rocked until Its little brain Is
so whirled and muddled that it can't help but
sleep, even though it was not at all sleepy
When child refuses to sleep at the usual time
is cross and fretful, you may rest assured that
there is a cause for 1t, and you will exhibit more
judgment if you seek for the cause than if you
attribute it to a temper lust like its pa" and
rock it sick and asleep. An infant should
never sleep where dazzling light can strike it's
eyes. Defective eyesight is often caused by
disregard of this suggestion. The cot or bed oc.
cuped by children should not be too near the
floor. Plants flowers and perfumes, if at all
strong, should be excluded from children's Sleep
ing apartments. They exercise no salutary in
huence, but, on the contrary are positively harm
full. Children should never be allowed to sleep
with persons advanced in years. Under no cir
cumstances whatever allow your children to sleep
with those suffering from or having any heredi-
tary or chronic disease. just hear word of
parenthetic advice do not allow your children
In ha Kissed and fnndad hv avarvhody lata
number of Hayes Journal reviews a number of
cases of a most loathsome disease being commu-
| nicated by the saliva o diseased person having
| tatooed his victims and using the saliva to dis
solve his paints Children should be allowed to
| sleep as much as they want to- But on no ac-
count, except sickness, should they be allowed to
lie in bed after waking in the morning
For the first few weeks of existence an infant
needs but little exercise, and even for the first
month or two it should be handled as little as
possible, and never be made to sit up by prop
| ping with pillows Babies are handled to much
| generally for their own good, whatever may be
the pleasure secured to the mother or nurse.
The habit OF tossing child up and down is dan.
gerous and useless, besides being very silly. Until
an infant can sit alone 1t is far better to let it lie
on its cot than to hold 1t in the arms or upon
the lap. 1t should every day be carried into the
open air If the weather permits. These excur-
sions should not be too frequent, as they weary
the little one. The common and better way is to
make these excursions with the infant in little
carriage, provided the carriage be supplied with
| good, easy springs. Many of the ordinary car
| riages have about as much spring to them as
lumber wagon has. The carriage should not be
| jerked or run with
Never urge child to walk before it is able to do
so. The habit of early teaching children to walk is
most pernicious as it almost invariably produces
| distortion of the lower limbs The bones of the
young OF all animals are soft and easily bent and
distorted. As soon as the child has acquired
sufficient strength to walk alone perfect freedom
of exercise should be allowed. No vigorous child
can be kept SO il confined. The open air, with
| free exercise, will give health and vigor. This
exercise ought not to be different for the two
sexes ; girls iced it quite as much as boys. 1t
has become absurd practice. derived from an
absurd notion, that girls want to be trained to be
women just as soon as they are old enough to
know the name. The sedentary life generally
prescribed for girls is the cause of the little
health OF the mothers of to-day. The custom Of
sending children to school as soon as they can
walk is another foolish move. No child should
be sent TO school before the seventh year, aud go
long as the iron clad rules of teachers, that all
pupils must stay ak hours IN school are OBJ
served, it would be all the better for the child to
not go to school before his or her ninth year.
AS infancy and childhood are the periods of
physical growth, SO are they the periods in which
the mind should receive such fashiouIng as true
manhood and womanhood need. The general
tendency OF most nursery discipline is to call
into action the passions, rather than to direct
and keep them in check. The habit Of buying
| child off with sweetmeats when it should be pun
| ished, aud punished when it should not be cor
rected. are too common. The habit of soaring
children by telling them ghost stories and other
lies is so silly, and at the same time does the
child great injury, that to mention it ought
10 be enough.
In short, in the moral education Of children,
you must set before them such examples as it is
good for them to follow. Use no language, prac-
tce no deception you would not have them use
or practice. When you do that you may expect
much and your expectations will not be disap-
pointments, in the morals OF your children.