Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children Part 1

Advice to a Mother on the Management of her Children.

by Pye Henry Chava.s.se.

PREFACE.

This Book has been translated into French, into German, into Polish, and into Tamil (one of the languages of India); it has been extensively published in America; and is well-known wherever the English language is spoken.

The Twelfth Edition--consisting of twenty thousand copies--being exhausted in less than three years, the THIRTEENTH EDITION is now published.

One or two fresh questions have been asked and answered, and two or three new paragraphs have I been added.

PYE HENRY CHAVa.s.sE.

214, HAGLEY ROAD, EDGBASTON, BIRMINGHAM, _June_, 1878.

ADVICE TO A MOTHER.

PART I.--INFANCY

_Infant and suckling._--I. SAMUEL _A rose with all its sweetest leaves yet folded._--BYRON.

_Man's breathing Miniature!_--COLERIDGE.

PRELIMINARY CONVERSATION

1. _I wish to consult you on many subjects appertaining to the management and the care of children; will you favour me with your advice and counsel_?

I shall be happy to accede to your request, and to give you the fruits of my experience in the clearest manner I am able, and in the simplest language I can command--freed from all technicalities. I will endeavour to guide you in the management of the health of your offspring;--I will describe to you the _symptoms_ of the diseases of children;--I will warn you of approaching danger, in order that you may promptly apply for medical a.s.sistance before disease has gained too firm a footing;--I will give you the _treatment_ on the moment; of some of their more pressing illnesses--when medical aid cannot at once be procured, and where delay may be death;--I will instruct you, in case of accidents, on the _immediate_ employment of remedies--where procrastination may be dangerous;--I will tell you how a sick child should be nursed, and how a sick-room ought to be managed;--I I will use my best energy to banish injurious practices from the nursery;--I will treat of the means to prevent disease where it be possible;--I will show you the way to preserve the health of the healthy,--and how to strengthen the delicate;--and will strive to make a medical man's task more agreeable to himself,--and more beneficial to his patient,--by dispelling errors and prejudices, and by proving the importance of your _strictly_ adhering to his rules. If I can accomplish any of these objects, I shall be amply repaid by the pleasing satisfaction that I have been of some little service to the rising generation.

2. _Then you consider it important that I should be made acquainted with, and be well informed upon, the subjects you have just named_?

Certainly! I deem it to be your imperative duty to _study_ the subjects well. The proper management of children is a vital question,--a mother's question,--and the most important that can be brought under the consideration of a parent; and, strange to say, it is one that has been more neglected than any other. How many mothers undertake--the responsible management of children without previous instruction, or without forethought; they undertake it, as though it may be learned either by intuition or by instinct, or by affection. The consequence is, that frequently they are in a sea of trouble and uncertainty, tossing about without either rule or compa.s.s; until, too often, their hopes and treasures are s.h.i.+pwrecked and lost.

The care and management, and consequently the health and future well-doing of the child, princ.i.p.ally devolve upon the mother, "for it is the mother after all that has most to do with the making or marring of the man." [Footnote: _Good Words_, Dr W. Lindsay Alexander, March 1861.] Dr Guthrie justly remarks that--"Moses might have never been the man he was unless he had been nursed by his own mother. How many celebrated men have owed their greatness and their goodness to a mother's training!" Napoleon owed much to his mother. "'The fate of a child,' said Napoleon, 'is always the work of his mother;' and this extraordinary man took pleasure in repeating, that to his mother he owed his elevation. All history confirms this opinion..." The character of the mother influences the children more than that of the father, because it is more exposed to their daily, hourly observation.--_Woman's Mission_.

I am not overstating the importance of the subject in hand when I say, that a child is the most valuable treasure in the world, that "he is the precious gift of G.o.d," that he is the source of a mother's greatest and purest enjoyment, that he is the strongest bond of affection between her and her husband, and that

"A babe in a house is a well-spring of pleasure, A messenger of peace and love."--_Tupper_,

I have, in the writing of the following pages, had one object constantly in view--namely, health--

"That salt of life, which does to all a relish give, Its standing pleasure, and intrinsic wealth, The body's virtue, and the soul's good fortune--health."

If the following pages insist on the importance of one of a mother's duties more than another it is this,--_that the mother herself look well into everything appertaining to the management of her own child_.

Blessed is that mother among mothers of whom it can be said, that "she hath done what she could" for her child--for his welfare, for his happiness, for his health!

For if a mother hath not "done what she could for her child"--mentally, morally, and physically--woe betide the unfortunate little creature;--better had it been for him had he never been born!

ABLUTION

3. _Is a new-born infant, for the first time, to be washed in warm or in cold water_?

It is not an uncommon plan to use _cold_ water from the first, under the impression of its strengthening the child. This appears to be a cruel and barbarous practice, and is likely to have a contrary tendency. Moreover, it frequently produces either inflammation of the eyes, or stuffing of the nose, or inflammation of the lungs, or looseness of the bowels. Although I do not approve of _cold_ water, we ought not to run into an opposite extreme, as _hot_ water would weaken and enervate the babe, and thus would predispose him to disease. Luke warm _rain_ water will be the best to wash him with. This, if it be summer, should have its temperature gradually lowered, until it be quite cold, if it be winter, a _dash_ of warm water ought still to be added, to take oft the chill [Footnote: A nursery basin (Wedgwoode make is considered the best), holding either six or eight quarts of water, and which will be sufficiently large to hold the whole body of the child. The baton is generally fitted into a wooden frame which will raise it to a convenient height for the was.h.i.+ng of the baby.] (By thermometer = 90 to 92 degrees.)

It will be necessary to use soap--Castile soap being the best for the purpose--it being less irritating to the skin than the ordinary soap. Care should be taken that it does not get into the eyes, as it may produce either inflammation or smarting of those organs.

If the skin be delicate, or if there be any excoriation or "breaking-out" on the skin, then glycerine soap, instead of the Castile soap, ought to be used.

4. _At what age do you recommend a mother to commence was.h.i.+ng her infant either in the tub, or in the nursery basin_?

As soon as the navel string comes away [Footnote: Sir Charles Loc.o.c.k strongly recommends that an infant should be washed _in a tub_ from the very commencement. He says,--"All those that I superintend _begin_ with a tub."--_Letter to the Author_.] Do not be afraid of water,--and that in plenty,--as it is one of the best strengtheners to a child's const.i.tution. How many infants suffer, for the want of water from excoriation!

5. _Which do you prefer--flannel or sponge--to wash a child with_?

A piece of flannel is, for the first part of the was.h.i.+ng very useful--that is to say, to use with the soap, and to loosen the dirt and the perspiration; but for the finis.h.i.+ng-up process, a sponge--a large sponge--is superior to flannel, to wash all away, and to complete the bathing. A sponge cleanses and gets into all the nooks, corners, and crevices of the skin. Besides, sponge, to finish up with, is softer and more agreeable to the tender skin of a babe than flannel. Moreover, a sponge holds more water than flannel, and thus enables you to stream the water more effectually over him. A large sponge will act Like a miniature shower bath, and will thus brace and strengthen him.

6. _To prevent a new-born babe from catching cold, is it necessary to wash his head with brandy_?

It is _not necessary_. The idea that it will prevent cold is erroneous, as the rapid evaporation of heat which the brandy causes is more likely to give than to prevent cold.

7. _Ought that tenacious, paste like substance, adhering to the skin of a new-born babe, to be washed off at the first dressing_?

It should, provided it be done with a soft sponge and with care. If there be any difficulty in removing the substance, gently rub it, by means of a flannel, [Footnote: Mrs Baines (who has written so much and so well on the Management of Children), in a _Letter_ to the Author, recommends flannel to be used in the _first_ was.h.i.+ng of an infant, which flannel ought afterwards to be burned; and that the sponge should be only used to complete the process, to clear off what the flannel had already loosened. She also recommends that every child should have his own sponge, each of which should have a particular distinguis.h.i.+ng mark upon it, as she considers the promiscuous use of the same sponge to be a frequent cause of _ophthalmia_ (inflammation of the eyes). The sponges cannot be kept too clean.] either with a little lard, or fresh b.u.t.ter, or sweet-oil. After the parts have been well smeared and gently rubbed with the lard, or oil, or b.u.t.ter, let all be washed off together, and be thoroughly cleansed away, by means of a sponge and soap and warm water, and then, to complete the process, gently put him in for a minute or two in his tub. If this paste like substance be allowed to remain on the skin, it might produce either an excoriation, or a "breaking-out" Besides, it is impossible, if that tenacious substance be allowed to remain on it, for the skin to perform its proper functions.

8. _Have you any general observations to make on the was.h.i.+ng of a new-born infant_?

A babe ought, every morning of his life, to be thoroughly washed from head to foot, and this can only be properly done by putting him bodily either into a tub or into a bath, or into a large nursery basin, half filled with water. The head, before placing him in the bath, should be first wetted (but not dried), then immediately put him into the water, and, with a piece of flannel well soaked, cleanse his whole body, particularly his arm pits, between his thighs, his groins, and his hams, then take a large sponge in hand, and allow the water from it, well filled, to stream all over the body, particularly over his back and loins. Let this advice be well observed, and you will find the plan most strengthening to your child. The skin must, after every bath, be thoroughly but quickly dried with warm, dry, soft towels, first enveloping the child in one, and then gently absorbing the moisture with the towel, not roughly scrubbing and rubbing his tender skin as though a horse were being rubbed down.

The ears must, after each ablution, be carefully and well dried with a soft dry napkin, inattention to this advice has sometimes caused a gathering in the ear--a painful and distressing complaint, and at other times it has produced deafness.

Directly after the infant is dried, all the parts that are at all likely to be chafed ought to be well powdered. After he is well dried and powdered, the chest, the back, the bowels, and the limbs should be gently rubbed, taking care not to expose him unnecessarily during such friction.

He ought to be partially washed every evening, indeed it may be necessary to use a sponge and a little warm water frequently during the day, namely, each time after the bowels have been relieved.

_Cleanliness is one of the grand incentives to health_, and therefore cannot be too strongly insisted upon. If more attention were paid to this subject, children would be more exempt from chafings, "breakings-out," and consequent suffering, than they at present are. After the second month, if the babe be delicate, the addition of two handfuls of table-salt to the water he is washed with in the morning will tend to brace and strengthen him.

With regard to the best powder to dust an infant with, there is nothing better for general use than starch--the old fas.h.i.+oned starch _made of wheaten flour_--reduced by means of a pestle and mortar to a fine powder, or Violet Powder, which is nothing more than finely powdered starch scented, and which may be procured of any respectable chemist. Some others are in the habit of using white lead, but as this is a poison, it ought _on no account_ to be resorted to.

9. _If the parts about the groin and fundament be excoriated, what is then the best application_?