Of scarcely less importance than food is cleanliness, and
no child can be considered really clean which is not thor-
oughly washed every day. This practice of daily bathing
should date from the child's birth, lukewarm water beino-
used for babies, who should, as soon as they are a month or
so old, be pat into a tub or large basin and carefully washed
from head to foot with a soft sponge, or cloth, and soap ;
the best time for the bath being in the morning, though if
more convenient to the mother, ii can be given at night.
Children who are properly washed in this way will be
directly benefited as to their general health, and are usually
almost entirely exempt from certain skin diseases which are
the result of uncleanliness. Care should always be taken to
thoroughly dry the skin on all parts of the body after
ON HABITS AND MANNERS 1 29
bathing: baths should never be given immediately after
eating, and for children, should always be of medium temp-
erature, neither hot nor cold.
In addition to the daily bath, the cleanliness of children
should be ensured by frequent changes of underclothing, and
this is not a difficult thing to do, because the under-
garments of little children are so easily washed and cheaply-
made, that almost any mother can provide and keep clean a
sufficient supply, if necessary. In clothing young children^
even in warm climates, thin flannel shirts are almost indis-
pensable, for they protect the chest, stomach and bowels,
and prevent much of the danger arising from sudden
changes of temperature. Beyond this, there is little to be
said in respect to clothing, except that the garments should
all be loose and comfortable, and, so far as possible, adapted
to the changing seasons ; for a little care in putting on and
taking off extra clothing will save children from many of
the colds, and ailments resulting from colds, from which
they suffer. The substance of all teaching in regard to the
physical care of children is simply that if parents can ensure
to their children wholesome food, comfortable clothing, and
cleanliness, they need have little fear about their physical
condition ; for though the food may be very plain, their
clothing coarse, and the cleanliness not always apparent to
the eye, yet such is the power of the natural laws that
I30 ON HABITS AND MANNERS.
obedience to them in the above particulars is sure to
develop children, born without inherited weakness, into
strong men and women. Of the other essentials to the
physical health of children, viz., plenty of fresh air and out-
of-door exercise, I need hardly speak, for, as a general thing,
the children in whose interest I am now writing, enjoy to
the full these two privileges, and are therein greatly, though
perhaps unconsciously, blessed.
Page 58
Presented as published in 1888. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
Of scarcely less importance than food is cleanliness, and no child can be considered really clean which is not thoroughly washed every day. This practice of daily bathing should date from the child's birth, lukewarm water being used for babies, who should, as soon as they are a month or so old, be pat into a tub or large basin and carefully washed from head to foot with a soft sponge, or cloth, and soap ; the best time for the bath being in the morning, though if more convenient to the mother, it can be given at night. Children who are properly washed in this way will be directly benefited as to their general health, and are usually almost entirely exempt from certain skin diseases which are the result of uncleanliness. Care should always be taken to thoroughly dry the skin on all parts of the body after
bathing: baths should never be given immediately after eating, and for children, should always be of medium temperature, neither hot nor cold.
In addition to the daily bath, the cleanliness of children should be ensured by frequent changes of underclothing, and this is not a difficult thing to do, because the undergarments of little children are so easily washed and cheaplymade, that almost any mother can provide and keep clean a sufficient supply, if necessary. In clothing young children, even in warm climates, thin flannel shirts are almost indispensable, for they protect the chest, stomach and bowels, and prevent much of the danger arising from sudden changes of temperature. Beyond this, there is little to be said in respect to clothing, except that the garments should all be loose and comfortable, and, so far as possible, adapted to the changing seasons ; for a little care in putting on and taking off extra clothing will save children from many of the colds, and ailments resulting from colds, from which they suffer. The substance of all teaching in regard to the physical care of children is simply that if parents can ensure to their children wholesome food, comfortable clothing, and cleanliness, they need have little fear about their physical condition ; for though the food may be very plain, their clothing coarse, and the cleanliness not always apparent to the eye, yet such is the power of the natural laws that
obedience to them in the above particulars is sure to develop children, born without inherited weakness, into strong men and women. Of the other essentials to the physical health of children, viz., plenty of fresh air and out-of-door exercise, I need hardly speak, for, as a general thing, the children in whose interest I am now writing, enjoy to the full these two privileges, and are therein greatly, though perhaps unconsciously, blessed.