e in the
nursery. Some condemn it altogether; others think its occasional use
highly proper. Those who condemn it, do it chiefly on the ground that it
produces a whirling motion of the brain, which, while it inclines to
giddiness and lulls to sleep, disturbs, in some degree, the process of
digestion.

It seems to me that there is weight to this objection; and although the
cradle has been extensively used without producing any obviously evil
effects, I should greatly prefer to have it universally laid aside. As
far as mere amusement is demanded, it is quite unnecessary, since there
are so many amusements which are far better. As a means of inducing
sleep, I am still more strongly opposed to it; for if a child be
rationally treated in every other respect, it will never need artificial
means to induce it to sleep. Nature will then be the most appropriate
directress in this matter.

If there is a cradle in a nursery, it is almost always full of clothes
loaded with air more or less impure, and the child is buried in it more
than is compatible with health, even in the judgment of the mother or
the nurse; for so convenient is its use, and so great the temptation to
keep the child in it, that he will often be found soaking there a large
proportion of his time. Every one knows that the air has not so free
access to a child in the cradle as elsewhere, especially if it have a
kind of covering or hood to it, as we often see. Besides, the cradle is
a piece of furniture which takes up a great deal of space in the
nursery; and every one who has made the trial effectually, will, it
seems to me, greatly prefer its room to its company.

If any cradle is to be used, those are best which are suspended by
cords, and are swung, rather than rocked. And this swinging should be in
a line with the body of the child as much as possible; as this motion is
less likely to produce injury than its opposite.

SEC. 2. _Carrying in the Arms._

This is the most appropriate exercise for the first two months of
existence; and indeed, one of the best for some time afterward.

Although a healthy, thriving child ought to sleep, for some time after
birth, from two thirds to three fourths of his time, yet it should never
be forgotten that the demand for proper exercise during the rest of the
time, is not the less imperious on this account; but probably the more
so.

I have already mentioned the importance of bathing, which is one form of
exercise, and