p, neither is it a
variety show. It is a tiny individual, and your responsibilities as
parents and caretakers are very great. The child was sent to be fed,
clothed, kept warm, dry, and otherwise cared for by you, until such a
time as it will become able to care for itself. Remember, what we sow,
that shall we also reap. If we sow indulgence we shall reap anger,
selfishness, irritability, "unbecomingness"--the spoiled child. At two
or three days the baby learns that when it opens its mouth and emits a
holler, someone immediately comes. If we do it on the second and third
day, why should we object to run, bow, and indulge on the one
hundredth and second day?

Handle the baby as little as possible. Turn occasionally from side to
side, feed it, change it, keep it warm, and let it alone; crying is
absolutely essential to the development of good strong lungs. A baby
should cry vigorously several times each day. If the baby is to be
handled, support the back carefully (Fig. 6).

THE EARLY BATHS

During the first week the baby is oiled daily over his entire body,
with the exception that the cord dressing remains untouched. The face,
hands, and buttocks are washed in warm water. After the third week the
bathroom is thoroughly warmed and the small tub is filled with water
at temperature of 100 F. The baby having been stripped and wrapped in
a warm turkish towel, is placed on a table protected by a pillow,
while the caretaker stands by and vaselines the creases of the neck,
armpits, folds of the elbows, knees, thighs, wrists, and genitals; and
then, with her own hands, she applies soap suds all over the
body--every portion of which is more quickly and readily reached--than
by the use of a wash cloth. And now, with the bath at 100 F., with a
folded towel on the bottom of the small tub, the soapy child is placed
into the water and after a thorough rinsing is lifted out again to a
warm fresh towel on the table and the careful drying is quickly begun.
After the bath all the folds and creases are given a light dusting
with a good talcum.

During hot weather the bath should be given daily, soap being used
twice a week. On the other days there should be the simple dipping of
the child into the tub. During the cold weather the full bath is given
but twice a week, while on the other days a sponge bath or an oil rub
may be administered.

A weak, delicate child should not be exposed to the daily full bath,
but rather the semi-weekly