INFANCY. 
child be kept warm, and the dress sit 
y on every part. 
/ 
Sleep is at all times necessary to health ; 
in infancy it is particularly so ; for the sti- 
muli of air and light alone are sufficient to 
exhaust the system in an hour or two. Yet 
order is one of the first laws of nature; and 
habit is its best foundation. After the first 
few days, therefore, of mere introduction 
to a new world, and a new mode of exis- 
tence, the periods of sleep should submit to 
some degree of regulation. An infant that 
is allowed to sleep through nearly the whole 
of the day, will usually be a very trouble- 
some companion to its mother through the 
whole of the night. It has had more than 
a sufficiency of rest, and cannot be made 
to sleep, till it again becomes tired and ex- 
hausted. Then comes the nurse, with her 
nostrums and her lullabies ; her cradle, her 
cordials, and her anodynes. The whole are 
useless in a state of health, and many of 
them most pernicious. The fault is all her 
own ; it proceeds alone from a want of re- 
gular periods of sleep and wakefulness. 
The situation of children requires at first 
air of a moderately warm temperature ; 
after which they may be gradually inured 
to a colder atmosphere, without any danger 
to their health. Too much warmth, how- 
ever, is as prejudicial as the opposite ex- 
treme, and the more to be dreaded, as 
every time they are brought to the open 
air, they are exposed to the danger of 
catching cold. But it is not merely a cold 
air that is to be avoided, it is air that is 
confined, and at the same time loaded with 
moisture. A confined damp air is the 
cause of many of the diseases by which 
children are afflicted ; and to this state of 
the atmosphere the children of the poorer 
classes are particularly exposed. Too much 
caution cannot be used by parents in su- 
perintending this part of the treatment of 
their offspring. When sent abroad, under 
the care of servants, they are often kept too 
long exposed to the inclemencies of the 
weather, and frequently allowed to sit or 
lie on the damp ground ; or they are kept 
carelessly in the arms of a servant, exposed 
to a current of air, the consequence of 
which, when brought from the confinement 
of a warm room, must be mischievous. To 
avoid the danger of cold, then, much atten- 
tion should be paid to the dress, and not to 
allow' the period of their exposure to be too 
long at a time. They should, however, be 
carried out at least once a day, when the 
weather permits, and that generally about 
mid-day, and, if possible, into fields, or 
squares, or other exposed situations. 
The same caution that is necessary in \ 
carrying them out, should be applied to the 
conduct within doors. The nursery should 
be the largest and best aired room in the 
house. When children sleep in a cradle, 
they should not be wrapped up too closely, 
particularly so, as they are usually laid in 
with their clothes on. Neither when they 
are further grown, should more than one 
child sleep in the same bed. In short, the 
proper regulation is, to keep the child as 
much as possible in one pure, equal tempe- 
rature, avoiding every thing that is damp 
and unwholesome ; and, if this equality of 
atmosphere cannot be preserved in our own 
country, to take care, at least, that the tran- 
sitions from heat to cold be not made too 
suddenly ; by which attention, all the evils 
arising from this source will be avoided. 
Exercise is natural to man, and the de- 
>ire of it is coeval with existence; nay, 
may be said to precede it ; for the motions 
of the child in the womb show, that it is 
with difficulty retained in a passive state. 
Infants, therefore, ought never to be at 
rest but when asleep, and this motion is of 
the first importance; it will atone for seve- 
ral defects in nursing, and is absolutely ne- 
cessary for the health, strength, and growth 
of children. 
The first exercise that children usually 
receive, and which they ought to receive, 
is that of being dandled in the arm, or mov- 
ed gently up and down, which tends much t 
to assist digestion. Rubbing them with the 
hand is also highly useful at this period of 
life, particularly along the back-hone, which 
occasions the child to stretch itself, and to 
exhibit different signs of muscular exertion, 
expressive of the satisfaction it receives. 
As children increase in growth, their ex- 
ercise should be proportionably augmented, 
and the nurse should endeavour to give 
them as much motion with her arm as pos- 
sible. A proper nurse knows the method 
of doing this, and requires no specific di- 
rections. 
As soon as a child is able to be put on 
its feet, it should be allowed to make use 
of them. Every member acquires strength 
in proportion as it is exercised ; and chil- 
dren, by being accustomed to support 
themselves, will soon acquire strength for 
the purpose. Children also begin to use 
their feet by degrees, and by this gradual 
attempt, ail the dangers hinted at by 
