Foods and home making

baby needs plenty of water to drink to keep him well. When the weather is hot or damp, he feels the effects of heat and damp- ness more than older people do. Drinking water helps to make him more comfortable. Give the baby boiled water. After it is boiled, the water should be poured into a scalded bottle or jar. The container should be corked or covered. When given to the baby, the water should be cool, but not cold. Let the baby drink the boiled and cooled water from a cup or feeding bottle. The very young baby can drink only about a tablespoonful at a time. Gradually the amount can be in- creased. It is possible to give a baby too much milk and other Keeping the Baby Well and Happy 495 foods but not too much water. About halfway between feeding periods and just before his bath are the times to give a baby water to drink. When should a baby be bathed ? A baby needs a bath every day. Either a sponge bath or a tub bath may be given. For a very young baby, a sponge bath is given. After a baby is two weeks old, he may be bathed in the tub. A bath is usually given in the morning or at night. It should always be given before and not after feeding. In warm weather a baby needs several sponge baths each day, besides a tub bath. The room in which the baby is bathed should be warm. The temperature should be between 720 and 76° F. It is well to have a thermometer in the room so that the temperature can be accurately measured. One’s hands should be washed before bathing the baby. All articles needed for bathing the baby and the clothing needed after the bath should be arranged before starting. Note to the Teacher: Giving a baby both a sponge bath and a tub bath can be taught best by a demonstration given either by you or by a visiting nurse. For directions for bathing a baby, refer to material issued by the board of health of your state or to Manual of Infant Hygiene, State Board of Health, Madison, Wisconsin. What is your responsibility to younger brothers and sisters ? If you have a baby brother or sister, you have observed, no doubt, how quickly he learns to imitate those around them. A baby has no good or bad habits when he is born. The habits he develops are determined by those who come in contact with him. It is possible to train a baby to have good habits. Older sisters and brothers need to remember that babies and younger brothers and sisters will often imitate what they do. They have a great responsibility, then, in doing nothing which would lead the younger brother or sister to develop a bad habit. How should you amuse little children? Little children love stories. There are many wholesome stories for children that 496 Health and Child Care will both amuse them and teach them about people and things. But there are exciting stories which are not suitable. A ghost story will make some children nervous and wakeful at night. The trust a little child places in his parents and older brothers and sisters is one of the lovely things of life. Act so that your little brother or sister will always trust you. Do not deceive him in any way. Be truthful and sincere to him. Do not in any way take advantage of him because he is smaller and younger than you.