The daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Ind. Ter. [Okla.]) 1898-1902, 1900-01-18
BABIES AND COMMON SENSE.
Old-FnshIoned Notions in the Care
of Young Children VS.. the
New Training.

eTFf
Il always smile to myself" said :
sweet old lady the other day, when
hear old-fashioned folk pooh-pooh the
ways of the modern mother. l JUS
wish l had known as much when the
stork brought my first little one. Die
have a thermometer to test the water
of his bath? No, indeed, and there's nc
telling how often the little cherub was
nearly parboiled. And those dreadful
long-tubed nursing bottles! under
stand that the present-day mother
would as soon give her little blossom
a dose of poison. don't wonder at it,
The milk always did sour in them, and
Of course it never occurred to me to boil
the paraphernalia. Another thing that
I've noticed is that this generation of
women make such sensible mothers.
They read up-to-date books on baby
training, and they know such a lot about
pulse-beats and temperatures and
things of that sort that we always re-
lied upon the family doctor to tell us
about"
II was just reading the other day."
chimed in the skeptic, that an old doc
tor who has been officiating at births for
40 years says that each years crop is a
little bit worse and more troublesome
and nervous and fussy and collicky than
that of the previous 12 months"
Don't you believe it," the sweet old
lady declared. Il have always said
that nervous mother will have a nerv-
GUS baby, although it doesn't invari-
ably happen that way, particularly if
the baby is not a nursing child. But
your grandfather will tell you how he
walked the floor O. nights, or else how
he terrorized a small infant by spank
ing or something Of that sort Babies
have had stomach aches and teething
fracases ever since Cain and Abel wor-
ried Eve into a condition of nervous
prostration and gave Adam a hopeless
case of insomnia.
Il often think of the time when my
first baby made this earth a paradise
for me. My mother always superin-
tended the daily bath. 1t was a great |
event. The room was got boiling hot
and all the clothes were laid out, and |
if single garment was overlooked 1
and had to be hunted up after the
performance had begun was
called to task for my negligence in
good shape. The whole family stood
lbout in awe as the event progressed.
Baby was dabbled as gently as if he
we're piece of cut glass or made of
zeal lace and chiffon. We used to
hink that the water must be put on
and removed with the great
st gentleness. 1t was all in great con-
rast with the work of the mother of
o-day, who puts her baby into a tub
III of water and let's him splash and
lick and enjoy life. Ny baby was
'inned so tightly into his clothes that
Fhen once dressed his little body felt
xactly like a olt of ribbon or a pud-
ing bag-a full, well-stuffed pudding
ag. And those pinsl They nearly were I
be death Of me. We didn't have safety
ins those days, and the most amaz- :
lg number Of the little sharp steel
nes were used. Sometimes I've un-
ressed my younker half dozen times Q
lst TO see if the pin points weren't
ticking in the wrong and pain-giving
irection. But it's different now. A r
lother told me the other day that only
ne safety pin was used in the ward y
1be Of her small daughter, and that
iey'd been thinking seriously Of do
ig away with that one, only they
adn't found anything that was quite (
convenient in the way of buttons or .
lpes. .n-Chicapo Times-Uerald 3