The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1894-12-13
TAKE A LESION FROM TABB


Mothers shouldn't Allow Their Babies
lie Caressed to Excess. HI,
You know how it is with kitten5s-
they mustn't be handled too much if ypu
want ''ratters." But the baby is pasE
from grandma to Third Cousin Mae q;
he is tickled tossed, squeezed, poAed
and kissed until the marvel is why're
the world gets its human ''ratters,
To be sure. there is here and there AN
independent baby, baby who holds
all promiscuous cuddlings in righteous
scOrn He is not popular baby Ire
formers never are), you don't dare fpss
him, you hesitate before trotting him.
and you would no more think of buy
ing your face in the satin folds of tnls
pink neck than if he were young
gentleman of years instead of m&TXns'
Mamma and grandma call his luufty
and rebellious yells ''spunk;" dg %
matte relatives get out of it with Use
mods and the somewhat ambiguous\re-
mark that the world will hear frPm
him yet" And so it does, general y.
A baby born with sufficient tirmnesS OF
character to regulate the familiaritles
of intimates will be pretty certainito
have voice in the worlds affairs LATER
on, and to some purpose. If there are
abuses to be done away with-ratsCo
be caught, as it were-hell be keen on
the scent. l don't think DR.. Parkhurst
could have been q popular" baby.
1t doesn't seem as if it would take
anything beyond an ordinary end5Y4.
Ipent of common sense to see that y
handling is bad for kittens it is ten
times worse for babies. The average
well-mannered infant accepts the
squeezings and tossing as peculiar CON
ditions of an existence he is too young
to understand, and SO late is he from
angel land that he even ventures
goo goo" after a peculiarly trying
squeeze. This we take as indicative OF
enjoyment, and we squeeze again; II 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 if he lives through what
would kill ninety lives in a cat, what
does he amount to? Look about you,
what has he amounted to? For one
ratter how many sleek Tables and
Toms are there doing in comfort?
They are seldom so lost to all sense of
duty that if mouse ran across the
floor they would not run after it; they
have even been known to sit two hours
on a stretch before crack in the china
closet, but to go down cellar and delib-
erately hunt rats, like common cat,
they may not reason it out, but they
don't do it.
1t is unfortunate for the kittens and
babies that their charms are of so ire
sistible a nature, but irresistible or
not, what right has au admiring stran-
ger to take liberties with the helpless
little things just because they are soft
and pretty? It's quite time some one
took stand. Too many babies are
being ''eaten up" by fond grandmas,
aunties and cousins. The country cant
stand the drain.
Another thing; it ought not to take a
physician to teach us that a tender
baby body is not to be sqr lezed and
tossed about like worstedi AF5all, and
that everybody's breath, I'M 1.-THE
breath of an extensive famil 2oilv :, is
not good for baby lungs. wv S3l,f the
blame? Watch the old cat ~ ll"S ,,ime
you take up her kittens to idle;
human mothers could take a lesson
from this mother Springfield Re.
publican.