The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1913-10-03
Points
for
Mothers
The Child Beautiful,

NO matter what fond mother de-
ciares she wishes the fairy godm6ther
70 bestow on her child at its birth. In
her heart Of hearts she wishes her
child to be beautiful. No amount Of
wishing seems to have any power In
the matter, and what the fates decree
has to be submitted to. No matter
whether the beauty be much or little,
1t Is impossible to add to 1t, but with
care 1t can be preserved, for, sad to
relate, many people spoil their good
looks in early childhood through being
allowed to form undesira BILE, habits Of
those funny little ways which are
peculiar to the early stages Of life.
Who Is there who has not reveled
In the delight of the pastime which
grownups call "gargoyling" 1t con-
sists in making the face fascinatingly
ugly by stretching the mouth to its
fullest extent. pushing the nose up and
pulling the ears forward. 1t is dis
astrous to the very young, who by this
means obtain very premature wrinkles
and find their ears permanently out
standing. 1t should be severely dis
couraged in young children, and on no
account should such antics be reward
ed by a smile. no matter how comical
the child may look.
Similarly the frowns of bad tempei
should be avoided, and this can only
be done by removing the cause. Tenn
per, whether of the passionate or the
sulky variety. is largely a matter of
habit, and very undesirable one, too
but child must be taken in hand at
very early age If 1t is to be taught to
control its temper A child's feelings
are all on the surface, and 1t is easily
possible to divert the mind to some
other subject than that which caused
the outburst Of temper. Sulkiness gen
part Of an elder. 1t is extremely in
fictitious, and the parent who sulks
with a child need not be astonished II
the child shows symptoms Of the same
complaint.
Another trick Of childhood which Is
also associated with bad temper Is the
dangerous habit Of biting the nails
The iii result. which is apparent to ALL
is short and ugly finger nails, which
can never be made beautiful again.
even by the most skillful manicurists
The real danger Of the habit, however
lies in the sharpness of the small par
dcles swallowed. which are quite capa.
BILE of giving rise to an attack Of ap.
pendicitis.
Connected with the fingers also Is
the habit Of thumb sucking. which
commences when the gums are swollen
and painful at the time Of cutting the
teeth. At the earliest signs of thumb
sucking the thumb should be taken
out and a rubber ring given as sub
stitute. or, better still, the child should
be given little drop Of cold water to
drink. 1t seems hard to check a
habit which may soothe and comfort
q young child but there is the future
to be considered. and a continuance Of
the habit leaves it's mark in an ugly.
pointed thumb and deformed mouth, In
which the upper lip and the top teeth
are unduy projecting, while the lower
parts of the mouth are receding.
The evils arising from sucking o
dummy" resemble those Of thumb
sucking as far as deformity Of the
mouth is concerned. and with both
there is the evil of overexcited salivary
glands through the constant sucking.
1t would be good thing II the sale of
this injurious article were illegal. as
In France.