Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her ChildrenChavasse, Pye Henry
Science
Advice to a Mother on the Management of Her Children
Chavasse, Pye Henry
Child care; Children -- Health and hygiene; Infants -- Health and hygiene
Now, for the paraphernalia required for the process--(1.) A large
nursery basin, one that will hold six or eight quarts of water
(Wedgwood's make being considered the best); (2.) A piece of coarse
flannel, a yard long and half a yard wide; (3.) A large sponge; (4.) A
tablet either of the best yellow or of curd soap; (5.) Two towels-one
being a diaper, and the other a Turkish rubber. Now, as to the manner
of performing ablution. You ought to fill the basin three parts full
with _rain_ water, then, having well-soaped and cleansed your hands,
re-soap them, dip your head and face into the water, then with the
soaped hands well rub and wash your head, face, neck, chest, and
armpits; having done which, take the wetted sponge, and go over all
the parts previously travelled over by the soaped hands; then fold the
flannel, as you would a neck-kerchief, and dip it in the water, then
throw it, as you would a skipping-rope, over your shoulders and move
it a few times from right to left and from left to right, and up and
down, and then across the back and loins; having done which, dip the
sponge in the water, and holding your head over the water, let the
water stream from the sponge a time or two over your head, neck, and
face. Dip your head and face in the water, then put your hands and
arms (as far as they will go) into the water, holding them there while
you can count thirty. Having reduced the quantity of water to a third
of a basinful, place the basin on the floor, and sit (while you can
count fifty) in the water; then put one foot at a time in the water,
and quickly rub, with soaped hands, up and down your leg, over the
foot, and pass your thumb between each toe (this latter procedure
tends to keep away soft corns); then take the sponge, filled with
water, and squeeze it over your leg and foot, from the knee
downwards,--then serve your other leg and foot in the same way. By
adopting the above plan, the whole of the body will, every morning, be
thoroughly washed.
A little warm water might at first, and during the winter time, be
added, to take off the chill; but the sooner quite cold water is used
the better. The body ought to be quickly dried (taking care to wipe
between each toe), first with the diaper, and then with the Turkish
rubber. In drying your back and loins, you ought to throw as you would
a skipping-rope, the Turkish rubber over your shoulders, and move it a
few times front side to side, until the parts be dry.
Although the above description is necessarily prolix, the washing
itself ought to be very expeditiously performed; there should be no
dawdling over it, otherwise the body will become chilled, and harm
instead of good will be the result. If due dispatch be used, the whole
of the body might, according to the above method, be thoroughly washed
and dried in the space of ten minutes.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account