The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-11-06

AT another cOnIeSl WHERE very ioi sc
prizes were given, mother came to
me in tears. Her baby was a beauty,
but it had not won prize. She
brought the baby to me to prove it's
beauty, doll-like features, absolutely |
classic in their fineness, delicate skin,
soft, silken curls. And those stern |
doctors had said that the baby could |
not have prize just because its teeth
were dark and its stomach too big!
This "baby" was three years old. Its
head should have measured 20 inches
in circumference, its chest Fl and its
abdomen 20. Instead, its head meas
ured 49, its chest 10 IL, and its eb-
, domen 81 IL. In wee baby the abb
domen is protuberant, but from two
years on the chest should be larger
than the abdomen. This indicates
two things-that the child's respira
tory organs are in good condition, with
a fine chest development, and that the
food is properly digested.
1t took considerable questioning to
find out why this pretty child was not
in good condition, but in time we got
, at the truth. The little girl loved
/ candy. She inherited the taste from
her father and they had INDUCED her
because they thought she could not
help it! The discolored, decaying
n1,
both resulted from over-indulgence in
sweets The mother was urged to
reduce the amount of candy given the
child. not suddenly, but by gradually
substituting sweetened fresh or stew
ed fruit, and then as gradually reduc-
ing the amount of sugar served with
the fruit. This was seven months ago,
and now the mother writes that the
abdomen is smaller the teeth in bet
ter shape and the child much less
fretful,
1t is shocking to see the number OF
children brought to contests who at
three, four and five years have discol-
ored, decaymg teeth. The condition
of the teeth is a sure indication OF ma
cmal care-or lack of it. just as
SOON .s tile little teeth appear. thes
should be cleaused. Raly-size tooth
brushes. very soft indeed can now be
purca. Sod. AT fst The teeth should
aa brushed NIGHT and morning, not
witch tooth paste OF powder npt a
Very mId autisepuc like eiyco-Jhvmo-
, lime may be dropped into the 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 day in the
nursery, the teeth should be cleaned
after each meal.
Mothers often say in eXtenuation
of the bad condition of the baby's
teeth that it had bad teeth from the
beginning Except in the case of con-
stitutional disease and weakness, this
, is incredible. The baby's teeth come
) in strong and white. They are neglect
5 ed and abused. If the teeth turn dis
$ colored and crumble, one of three con
a ditions 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 some
one who understands the proper pro
portions of starch and minerals, o
meat and vegetables, of mushy foot
and hard, of saccharine and acid. Jus
as soon as a child has enough teetl
to chew with and has outgrown tn
5. choking age, he should be given vel
/. toasted bread, zweiback and har,
IS crackers to strengthen his teeth on.
e If the teeth are in bad condition an
IS will not yield to ordinary cleaning an
z sensible changes in diet, a doctor o
dentist should be consulted. TIL
e health and shape of the permanen
Is teeth depend on the care given tn
h first
I'll In visiting Better Babies Contest
Id have been shocked at the number {
" babies scored low for irregular fei
lures which might easily have bee
s corrected in infancy
rh The baby laid carelessly to slee
may grow up with mis-shapen ear
RS FLEE IN CASE OF WAR.