Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-12-21

Septlc, Ike SlycO.lnymOHne, may De aulOppeu Ihto tc
water. The tiny teeth must be brushed. up and down.
as well as back and forth, and special attention
should be given to brushing the gums.
When the baby begins to go to table, or eat three
meals a day in the nursery, the teeth should be
cleaned after each meal.
Mothers often say in extenuati0n of the bad con-
dition Of the baby's teeth that it has had bad teeth
from the beginning. Except in the case of ~constitu-
tional disease and weakness, this is incredible. The
baby's teeth come in strong and white: They are
neglected and abused. If the teeth turn discolorcd
and crumble, one of three conditions exist. They are
not properly cleaned or the diet given the child is
not right, or the teeth are not used. The diet should
be looked into by someone who understands the prop
er proportions Of starch and minerals, Of meat and
vegetables, OF mushy food and hard, Of s~accharine
and acid. Just as soon as a child has enough teeth
to chew with and has outgrown the choking age, he
should he given well toasted bread, zwciback and
hard crackers, to strengthen his teeth on.
If the teeth are in bad condition and will not
yield to ordinary cleaning and sensible changes in
diet, a doctor or dentist should be consulted. The
health and shape of the permanent teeth depend on
the care given the first.
In visiting Better Babies Contests | have been
shocked at the number of babies scored low for irreg-
'ular features, which might easily have been corrected
in infancy.
The baby laid carelessly to sleep may grow up
with mis.shapen ears. I have seen babies lying in a
bed with one ear curled forward. The wee baby is
such a tender, pliable bit of flesh and blood. Just
let it get into one bad habit of sleeping or lying, and
it. may be marked for life. When you lay it down
be sure that you lay back it's ears smoothly and
firmly.
OF course, il a child has inherited protrudine
ears, this defect is not easy to overcome, but it. can
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from the start with a thin netting cap that will hold
the ears, not tightly, but easily, in place.
Do not lay the baby down always on one side. Let
it sleep first on the right, then on the left side.
have seen children of 8 or 10 years whose faces are
asymettrical-that is, larger on one side than the
other-and physicians say this may have come from
always sleeping on the one side. Later in life, when
the form OF the face is fixed the adult may form any
sleeping habit he likes, but the baby should be
trained to sleep on either side.
Your child has a right to all the beauty you can
endow it with. If your baby has thin eyebrows and
|lashes, try to encourage their growth. 1t can be
done. Feed the eyebrows with "a little cocoa butter,
or vaseline. If you are very careful, you can even
touch the lashes with a tiny camel's hair brush
dipped in melted vaseline. l know a man and wife
whose looks were married by scanty lashcs and color
less brows. When her babies came, this woman dc.
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inheritance. She rubbed vaseline into the brows, had
the lashes cut twice before the babies were, three
months old, asking the family physician, an excellent
surgeon. to do this for her, and then she touched
the roots Of the lashes with melted vaseline. Her
children, now all in their teens. have beautiful brows
and lashes.
1t is absolutely criminal. to let a child distort its
mouth by sucking thumb or fingers. Let no mother
deceive herself by saying that the habit is the childs
great comfort, a natural soother and paciher. In
later years that child, especially If it be a girl, will
call her mother to task for permitting the Indulgence.
! have seen mothers actually start babies in this
fatal habit Of fngersucking by giving them what Is
known as a "pacifer,' or rubber nipple on Il ring.
1T is natural for a baby to suck at something. He
is born hungry. When he is very young, he will
continue making sucking motions with his mouth
after the breast or bottle has been taken from him.
If he happens to whimper, the mother thinks the
little sucking motion must be satisfied, she gives him
the pacifer or actually sticks his thumb in his mouths
and the mischief is begun.
The tendency to suck the thumb is easily checked.
From the very start, remove the thumb or finger and
lay the little hand firmly down at the baby's side as
he drops asleep. If he persists, then Immediately,
not after. the habit is almost ironclad, have him sleep
with his hand in a mitten. It is never too soon to
correct the habit. Better a crying baby today than
a. deformed daughter ten years from now. Thumb
sucking thrusts the teeth out, and in some cases
gives the entire lower part of the face the shape of
a rabbits.
Many mothers ask me about badly shaped hands,
and stubby fingers. Even these can be improved or
remedied by patient care right after the. baby is born.
Smooth them firmly. steadily into shape a lew min
utes at "a time, every time the baby wakens. OF
course, # bones are mis-shapen they cannot be
changed, but the stubby finger can be improved BY
pressure-if taken in time. But 1t does no good to
rub the fingers one day and let them 60 three. IT.
must be done patiently, regularly and gently. every
day while the flesh, bones and nails are soft.
The next talk will be on fresh air and exercise
for the. baby.
torstart with an endowment of s6,25OOOo. In the
case of Hamburg, however, the money has been en-.