A woven woollen combination reaching from neck to ankles, varying in substance 

 according to the season ; a woven woollen bodice to which are attached a pair of 

 woollen knickerbockers, woollen stockings supported by suspenders, a knitted jersey 

 coming well down over the hips, completed by a skirt for girls and knickerbockers 

 for boys, is the ideal costume until school-days are over. The boots and shoes should 

 be broad and easy, with low heels ; on no account should high heels and pointed toes 

 be allowed; and open-work stockings should also be taboo. 



IT MUST BE BORNE IN MIND 



that the younger the child, the larger its surface in proportion to its bulk. Indeed, 

 it is usual to estimate a child's surface as three times as great as that of an adult 



Fig. 9. 

 An improperly clothed child. How to interfere with health and check growth. 



In proportion to its size. Now, the body loses heat chiefly from its skin, while 

 warmth is more necessary to a child than to a grown person, because growth and 

 nutrition are checked by cold ; consequently suitable clothing is of special importance. 



SHEER THOUGHTLESSNESS AND IGNORANCE 



leave unprotected just those parts of a child's body where loss of heat is most 

 rapid or attended by most serious results. (See Fig. 9.) I refer to the wrists, 

 knees, and ankles, where the large blood-vessels are very near the surface (conse- 

 quently, if these are left bare and naked, large volumes of blood are perpetually 

 being chilled), and also to the upper part of 



THE LUNGS AND THE ABDOMEN. 



If the lungs are insufficiently covered, as when a low-cut frock is worn, their 

 most sensitive part is exposed to the risk of chill ; while in the case of the abdomen 

 this risk extends to the intestines, which are close to its surface ; the processes of 

 nutrition and growth are hampered or checked in each case, while the predisposition 

 to contract disease is increased. A great authority on the subject of clothing asserts 

 that many boys are stunted for life because they are clothed at too early an age 

 in sailor or other fancy costumes, which leave the abdomen insufficiently protected. 



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