CHILD 



Tests made on a new-born baby seem to prove, 

 however, that the sense of taste is active from 

 the first that there is a dislike for sour and 

 bitter things and a liking for sweets. It is 

 very desirable that this sense of taste should 

 be wisely developed, because a child's enjoy- 

 ment of simple and wholesome food depends 

 largely on it. As soon as a child begins eating 

 solid food, he should be encouraged to like 

 the things which are good for him and to dis- 

 like those which are unwholesome. It may 

 be mentioned, too, that children should be 

 encouraged to be thirsty, for their bodies need 

 a great deal of water. Every baby should be 

 given plenty of water to drink, and older 

 children should be encouraged to drink large 

 amounts of it. 



Hearing. A new-born baby is deaf, usually 

 because the inner ear is full of mucus, and 

 it remains deaf for several days. But if loud 

 noises are not heard by a baby by the end 

 of the fourth week, he should be taken to a 

 physician. Ordinarily, after three or four days 

 the baby becomes very sensitive to sound and 

 starts and trembles if a door is slammed or 

 some one speaks loudly. A sneeze or a whistle 

 will also cause a violent reaction. Music and 

 sound are such important factors in the growth 

 of children that no child ought to be brought 

 up without having the opportunity to hear soft, 

 sweet sounds. His interest in such sounds 

 should be encouraged and stimulated, and early 

 training in music should be begun. The 

 kindergarten admirably provides both the 

 music and the rhythm in which children de- 

 light. 



Dermal Senses. By dermal senses we mean 

 the sensations in the skin. Babies quickly note 

 the difference between things warm and cold. 

 A baby a week old will cry if he is put into 

 a bath that is a few degrees colder than the 

 one to which he is accustomed. This should 

 be remembered by the person who prepares 

 his bath. The hand of an adult is not sen- 

 sitive enough for testing the temperature 

 of the water. A thermometer should be used, 

 or, failing that, the elbow. The mucous mem- 

 brane of a baby's mouth and throat is much 

 more tender than that of a grown person. 

 Food which is merely warm to an adult will 

 seem disagreeably hot to a baby or small child. 

 Anyone who has observed children will realize 

 how indifferent the average child is as to 

 whether his food is more than warm, and a 

 mother's admonition, "Now eat your soup 

 while it is nice and hot," is usually enough to 



CHILD 



make the child push his plate away end wait 

 until it cools. 



Touch. Up to the third month the average 

 baby has done nothing but aimlessly grasp 

 with his hands, which he holds habitually with 

 the thumb inside the palm. But after the 

 second month he may be given every sort of 

 object to handle which will not do him injury. 

 As he grows older the more objects he has 

 hard and soft, rough and smooth to play with, 

 the faster will his sense of touch develop. The 

 ordinary toys babies are given may be supple- 

 mented by the many objects the ordinary 

 household provides clothespins, empty spools, 

 napkin rings, spoons, etc. If the baby cannot 

 handle the objects he sees his knowledge of 

 them will be imperfect. 



Sight. The eyes of a new-born baby are 

 closed most of the time. The reason that 

 some babies are so wakeful at night is un- 

 doubtedly due to the fact that the darkness is 

 pleasanter to their eyes than daylight. They 

 prefer to sleep when it is light and to lie 

 awake in the dark. The eyes of a tiny baby will 

 close if a light is brought near them, but after 

 a few days he will turn his head towards a 

 window or a light, and after a few weeks light 

 will give him pleasure. By the end of two 

 weeks the eyes, which do not at first coordinate, 

 will begin to follow objects and at the end 

 of eight or nine weeks a baby will stare at an 

 object for minutes at a time. By the seventh 

 month he will distinguish faces by staring at 

 strangers and smiling at friends, will turn his 

 head towards a person leaving the room and 

 follow with his eyes objects dropped from his 

 hand. 



Muscular Control. At birth a child has no 

 power to make voluntary movements of any 

 sort. When he moves an arm or a leg, when 

 his eyes close at a bright light or when he 

 starts at a loud sound, the movement if a 

 total surprise to him something he can 

 neither prevent nor repeat. But gradually all 

 of his vague feelings become more distinct by 

 being repeated, and as the connective fibers 

 grow in his brain, the various feelings become 

 associated with one another. The wonderful 

 change in a baby usually occurs when he u 

 about six months old and is due to his dis- 

 covery that he can move this way or that as 

 he pleases and can direct his movements with 

 his eyes. Immediately he begins doing what 

 he sees other people do. He begins to imitate 

 sounds, facial expressions and movements of 

 all sorts. 



