The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-10-04

among poor people, To put all manner
Of minor ailments down to "teethng,'
as though they were inevitable. and In
this way sensible dieting and care II
omitted with much unnecessary suffer
ing. and sometimes serious results, to
the unfortunate baby.
With artifcially fed babies there Is,
undoubtedly. more or less discomfort
at the time, the gums being painful
locally and the general system up
set, with possible darrhua, vomt-
ing and sleeplessness. or the broken,
fltful sleep. which Is sure sign
Of something wrong" In "A small child.
a delicate. rckcty or neurotic child VIII
suffer from these symptoms In exag-
gerated degree; sometimes, too. serious
twitchings OF face and limbs are present.
and II this Is the case most certainly
a doctor should be called in; indeed Il
is wise TO get advice always II there IL
much arrangement. The twtchings
alluded 10 must be specially taken notice
Of. however, as they may he the prelude
20 commissions, from which some un-
fortunate little ones suffer at this time
A wise mother can do much TO assist
her baby over the trying time, and it
IL certainly well to take the bull by the
horns, for prevention In this. AZ in al
most all cases. Is far better than cure.
The main thing Is TO pay special at
tention to the diet. and TO reduce the
quantity for the time If any untoward
symptoms are present. a baby requires
less food when teething than generally.
and 1t Is "A mistake 20 try 10 force tho
little one to take more food than ii desires,
as nature IL often enough the best guide
In the matter. Let the child, however,
have plenty OF cold boiled water to drink
| as much as II likes; considerable thirst
1 Is generally present. and the cool water
will relieve this as well as soothe the
, swelled. innamed gums: moreover, In
creased salvation is always present
with its consequent perpetual drlb-
bllng--and the giving more or less
makes up moisture lost. A dose OF
| magnesia suitable for tiny children is
also useful
Do not however. let the child have
| something always to bite. or suck. an
unfortunate habit very often started at
| the period OF teething, when rings or
"COmforters" are so often given. In the
first place. the delicate membrane Of
the mouth Is often hurt in this way, and
in the second the habit OF constant
sucking. So productive ~ harm IL
| formed. to say nothing OF the entrance
| of evil germs from dust, floor, &c. into
| the mouth from unclean dummy or ring.
| 4 wakeful baby is an anomaly, and
| It may confidently be asserted that
| something Is wrong. Often, however.
! especially nowadays. the wrong il
! found in the nervous and not the ply
! steal condition. and when there are no
/ signs Of bodily disturbance this may he
! assumed to he the case. Not that II
( makes II any the less serious rather
I the contrary indecd--only that the
| remedy cannot be sought In diet or
drugs, but in those conditions of en-
! vironment and influence which directly
/ affect the nerves. The communcst rea-
son is found In efforts to "amuse" the
| little one-cfN,rts which are entirely
supertluous. for a baby finds ample
| amusement in its own wee fingers and
! toes in the mysteries of its cot cover
, let and the rest. If, therefore, II child
b found to be sleeping badly To have
| difficulty In going off To sleep. and so
| on. and th1e are no Indications that
! II is physically out of sorts let all cN-
! citing Influences be vigorously avoided
and the baby lie left alone and unuo-
/ uced as much as possible, Under all
! circumstances the hour before bedtime
should be kept free from excitement,
whViher of play or later on Of work
or worry, the child OF any age going
! To bed with az tranquil a body and
mind as possible.
The wise mother learns much Of her
little ones health 10y watching it during
the hours OF sleep. This Of course Is
well known where breathing is con-
! cerncd, and il is certainly "A matter Of
| the first Importance. But ii is not
often realized that the way I'm which
! the mite places its arms is often enough
an indication of distinct conditions.
| Very often baby sleeps naturally with
It's arms stretched up above it's head
a curious position peculiar to the early
weeks Of life, which at the same time
ls perfectly healthy and natural one.
The only danger is that of cold catch
ing and to prevent this 1t is far better
To provide the child with little knitted
Shetland jacket rather than to try to