The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1897-07-24
CARE OF
Lessons in Training Should Be Given
Early.

Lessons in Training Should Be Given
Early.
The time when the mother should b.
gin to enforce obedience in an infant
child is often a matter for discussion.
1t Is very difficult to convince some
young mothers that a "wee bit" of pink
and white humanity is capable of any
independence of will, although they will
often attribute the most ~precocious in
telligence to the child in other matters
Yet the desires of the baby for various
things, and often things it should not
have, begin to assert themselves before
the child shows intelligence in any other
way. Most babies seem fascinated by
the presence of an artificial light, and
will often lie blinking and staring at it
at night in the most quiescent manner
in a state OF thorough wakefulness.
They quite often resent the removal of
the light with screams. Every intelli-
gent nurse knows that the light is very
bad for this young persons eyes, and if
1t is kept in the room, however shaded,
the baby will keep awake staring at the
glow.
The first lessons in training a child
'the way he should go" thus begin
when the little one is less than a month
old. Fortunately, this portion of the
baby's training is not usually left to
the mother, but to the more or less ex-
perienced nurse, who is not likely to be
swerved from her duty from fear of the
consequences. 1t is positively neces-
sary to the health of the child that it be
fed regularly and only at stated periods,
on1 that e -Iaara ra,n1a-I.r IN 1-A-
of the nurse it to regulate these hours
on a hygienic basis. Many babies offer
some resistance to such a system, be-
cause they are too often in u disturbed
nervous condition from the attention of
overload relatives. There are always
some foolish people with the kindest
intentions who insist on rousing babies
to see If they notice" yet, or in "chuck-
ing" them under the chin to see if they
"smile," and the performance of those
various idiotic tests of the child's in
telligence at a period when any such
display of intelligence would mean ab-
normal p~recocity.
Unfortunately, such disturbers of the
nursery cannot always be kept away.
1t is usually such persons who dilate on
the cruelty of refusing to feed a "help-
less baby" every time he cries and of
keeping him awake the two hours pre-
ceding his meals at six p. IN. in order
to insure his sleeping steadily during
the night. He will then wake to be fed
two or three times, and will not wake
up until the birds, at sunrise. 1t seems
natural for healthy babies to get up
with the birds and sun, and they are
probably healthier for 1t. 1t is not
natural for them to lie awake at night,
and If the light is not lit and they are
O taken up they DON allow themselves
to be cuddled into sleep when they
do wake without rousing anyone but
the nurse or their mother.
1t requires some strength of will to
resist the-apparent effort of young chill
dren to break away from rules, but
when the mother thoroughly realizes
that b health of her child depends
upon her adherence to law and order
in respect to its meals and sleeping
hours, the first battle for authority has
been won. If she insists when it is q
little older that it shall respect the
rights of others, and shall not destroy
or tear up articles of however trivial
a value, another step has been taken in
the right way.
1t is very amusing to a baby of eight
or nine months of age to rattle and
tear paper, and many mothers amuse
little ones who would be equally de-
lighted with a rattle in this way. A
little later the toddling child begins
to tear up books and valuable papers,
and 1t is difficult to break up a habit
that should not have been formed. The
same rule applies to the frequent habit
of allowing babies to pull the hair and
scratch the faces of older children be
fore their efforts are sufficient to pro-
duce any pain. 1t teaches the helpless
baby a bad lesson.-N.. Y. Tribune.