The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1894-12-28
TAKE ALEssoN FROM rAeeY.
Mothers Shouldn't Allow Their Babies 70
Be Csressed to EXcesA.

BE Caressed to Excess.
You know how It is with kittens
they mustn't be handled too much il you
want 'ratters." But the baby is passed
from grandma to Third Cousin Maria;
he is tickled, tossed, squeezed, polled
and kissed until the marvel is where
the world gets it's human ''ratters-"
To be sure. there is here and there IN
Independent baby, a baby who holds
all promiscuous cuddlings in righteous
scorn. He is not popular baby IRE.
formers never are). you don't dare toss
him, you hesitate before trotting him,
and you would no more think Of bury
ing your face in the satin folds OF his
pink neck than II he were a young
gentleman Of years instead Of months.
Mamma and grandma call his lusty
and rebellious yells ''spunk;" diplo-
matte relatives get out of it with wise
pods and the somewhat ambiguous re-
mark that 1.-The world will hear from
him yet" And SO it does, generally.
A baby born with su Efficient 6rmness OF
character to regulate the familiarities
of intimates will be pretty certain to
have voice in the worlds affairs later
on. and to some purpose. It there arc
abuses to be done away with-rats to
be caught, as 1t were-he1l be keen on
the scent don't think DR.. Parkhurst
could have been popular" baby.
1t doesn't seem as if it would take
anything beyond an ordinary endow-
ment of common sense to see that Il
har>I1iry ic hal LII ~ IL tan
times worse for babies. The average
well-mannered infant accepts tho
squeezings and tossing as peculiar con-
ditions of On existence he is too young
to understand, and so late is he from
angel land that he even ventures
'goo goo" after peculiarly trying
squeeze. This we take as indicative OF
enjoyment, and we squeeze again; If he
protests we look for pin-surely moth
ing but pin would make our ''ownsey
downsey" cry when his little stomach
was full; if he still murmurs, we toss
him But II he lives through what
would kill ninety lives in a cat, what
does he amount 70? Look about you,
what has he amounted to? For one
iratter how many sleek Tables and
Toms are there doing In comfort?
They are seldom so lost to all sense OF
duty that il a mouse ran across the
floor they would not run after it; they
have even been known to sit two hours
on stretch before a crack in the china
closet. but to go down cellar and delib-
erately hunt rats. like common cat,
they may not reason 1t out, but they
don't do IL
{. 1t is unfortunate for the kittens and
babies that their charms are of SO ire
sistiole a nature, but irresistible or
not, what right has an admiring stran-
ger to take liberties with the helpless
little things just because they are soft
and pretty? It's quite time some ono
took stand. Too many babies are
being eaten up" by fond grandmss,
aunties and cousins The country can't
stand the drain
Another thing: it ought not to take
physician to teach US that tender
baby body is not to be squeezed and
tossed about like worsted ball, and
that every body's breath. or even the
breath of an extensive family circle, is
not good for baby lungs Where is the
blame? Watch the old cat next time
you take up her kittens TO cuddle;
human mothers could take a lesson
from this mother cat