Enquire Within Upon Everything Part 162

Sometimes, however, the Mother or Nurse removes the child from its couch, carries it about frequently in the middle of the night, and thus exposes it to repeated colds, which are in their effects infinitely more dangerous than the most violent cries.

2051. Indulgence.

We learn frum Daily Experience, that children who have been the least indulged, thrive much better, unfold all their faculties quicker, and acquire more muscular strength and vigour of mind, than those who have been constantly favoured, and treated by their parents with the most solicitous attention: bodily weakness and mental imbecility are the usual attributes of the latter.

2052. Free and Independent Agent.

The First and Princ.i.p.al Rule of education ought never to be forgotten--that man is intended to be a free and independent agent; that his moral and physical powers ought to be _spontaneously_ developed; that he should as soon as possible be made acquainted with the nature and uses of all his faculties, in order to attain that degree of perfection which is consistent with the structure of his organs; and that he was not originally designed for what we endeavour to make of him by artificial aid.

2053. Guide and Watch.

The Greatest Art in educating children consists in a continued vigilance over all their actions, without ever giving them an opportunity of discovering that they are guided and watched.

2054. Instances.

There are, however, Instances in which the loud complaints of infants demand our attention.

2055. Causes.

Thus, if their Cries be unusually violent and long continued, we may conclude that they are troubled with colic pains; if, on such occasions, they move their arms and hands repeatedly towards the face, painful teething may account for the cause; and if other morbid phenomena accompany their cries, or if these expressions be repeated at certain periods of the day, we ought not to slight them, but endeavour to discover the proximate or remote causes.

2056. Sleep.

Infants cannot Sleep too Long; and it is a favourable symptom when they enjoy a calm and long-continued rest, of which they, should by no means be deprived, as this is the greatest support granted to them by by nature.

2057. Faster Life.

A Child lives comparatively much faster than an adult; its blood flows more rapidly; every stimulus operates more powerfully; and not only its const.i.tuent parts, but its vital resources also, are more speedily consumed.

[DO A LITTLE WELL, AND YOU DO MUCH.]

2058. Aid of Sleep.

Sleep promotes a more Calm and Uniform Circulation of the blood; it facilitates the a.s.similation of the nutriment received, and contributes towards a more copious and regular deposition of alimentary matter, while the horizontal posture is the most favourable to the growth and development of the child.

2059. Proportion.

Sleep ought to be in Proportion to the age of the infant. After the age of six months, the periods of sleep, as well as all other animal functions, may in some degree be regulated; yet, even then, a child should be suffered to sleep the whole night, and several hours both in the morning and in the afternoon.

2060. Night Preferable.

Mothers and Nurses should endeavour to accustom infants, from the time of their birth, to sleep in the night preferably to the day, and for this purpose they ought to remove all external impressions which may disturb their rest, such as noise, light, &c., but especially not to obey every call for taking them up, and giving food at improper times.

2061. Day Sleep.

After the Second Year of their age, children will not instinctively require to sleep in the forenoon, though after dinner it may be continued to the third and fourth year of life, if the child shows a particular inclination to repose; because, till that age, the full half of life may safely be allotted to sleep.

2062. Proportion of Sleep.

From that period, however, sleep ought to be shortened for the s.p.a.ce of one hour with every succeeding year, so that a child of seven years old may sleep about eight, and not exceeding nine hours: this proportion may be continued to the age of adolescence, and even manhood.

2063. Gradual Awakening.

To awaken Children from their sleep with a noise, or in an impetuous manner, is extremely injudicious and hurtful; nor is it proper to carry them from a dark room immediately into a glaring light, or against a dazzling wall; for the sudden impression of light debilitates the organs of vision, and lays the foundation of weak eyes, from early infancy.

2064. Room for Sleeping.

A Bedroom or Night Nursery ought to be s.p.a.cious and lofty, dry, airy, and not inhabited through the day.

2065. No Contamination.

No Servants, if possible, should be suffered to sleep in the same room, and no linen or washed clothes should ever be hung there to dry, as they contaminate the air in which so considerable a portion of infantile life must be spent.

2066. Consequences.

The Consequences attending a vitiated atmosphere in such rooms are serious, and often fatal.

2067. Feather Beds.

Feather Beds should be banished from nurseries, as they are unnatural and debilitating contrivances.

2068. Windows.

The Windows should never be opened at night, but may be left open the whole day in fine clear weather.

2069. Position of Bedstead.

Lastly, the Bedstead must not be placed too low on the floor; nor is it proper to let children sleep on a couch which is made without any elevation from the ground; because the most mephitic and pernicious stratum of air in an apartment is that within one or two feet from the floor, while the most wholesome, or atmospheric air, is in the middle of the room, and the inflammable gas ascends to the top.