The Care and Feeding of Children. 809 



should never be worn at night, but should be hung where it will air thor- 

 oughly and should be wanned before being put on in the morning. 



The clothing should frequently be washed, as it absorbs the moisture 

 and secretions from the baby's body and then ceases to be the same 

 source of warmth and comfort. Diapers should not be dried and worn 

 again after wetting. They should first be washed and sunned. No 

 clodiing which the baby wears should ever be starched. 



The age at which clothing should be shortened differs with the season 

 and the vigor of the child, the present tendency being to shorten the 

 clothes as soon as possible. 



When the child begii>s to walk and the feet need protection, care should 

 be taken in selecting the foot gear. Soft moccasins with shaped soles 

 and lacing over the ankle are best, as these do not press the foot out of 

 shape. Small strapped slippers or soft shoes made with broad spreading 

 toes and soft soles aire excellent. No shoe should be worn which in any 

 way contracts or constricts the foot. A well-shaped foot means much 

 of health and comfort to the adult in later years. 



Regularity of intestinal movement. — With the healthy baby the habit of 

 freeing the bowls with regularity may be established during the first 

 month or two of life. The child should be carefully supported over the 

 cfiauiber night and morning at about the hour when evacuation usually 

 occurs. The association of idea is quickly set up and the habit soon 

 becomes fixed. The early establishment of this habit has more than one 

 virtue. Tt lessens the number of soiled diapers, thus ensuring more hy- 

 gienic conditions for the household and less work for the one in charge, 

 and it hastens the day when the diaper may be altogether discarded. The 

 same method of training may be applied in teaching the child to urinate 

 regularly or at least to make its wants known. 



The infant should never be allowed to pass even one day without at 

 least one free intestinal movement. It may sometimes be necessary to 

 accomplish this with sick or feeble children by giving an enema to soften 

 the fecal matter. Drugs should never be given except under the advice 

 of a competent physician. With artifically fed babies, obstinate constipa- 

 tion is often due to defective feeding and may be overcome by a judicious 

 use of thoroughly cooked oatmeal water. Lack of water may be also one 

 cause of this trouble with babies. The habit of a daily movement once 

 established should be carefully fostered as the child grows older. Time 

 should be allowed for this process as for others. A common cause of 

 chronic constipation in later years is the morning hurry in childhood 

 which may interrupt and destroy the child's regularity of habit. Physical 

 functions are just as important as mental ones. It would be better to 

 miss a few lessons than to make brain and body sluggish with retained 

 wastes. 



