The Physical Training of ChildrenChavasse, Pye Henry
Science
The Physical Training of Children
Chavasse, Pye Henry
Child care; Children -- Health and hygiene
Let him be held out just before he himself goes to bed, and again when
the family retires to rest. If, at the time, he be asleep, he will
become so accustomed to it that he will, without awaking, make water. He
ought to be made to lie on his side; for, if he be put on his back, the
urine will rest upon an irritable part of the bladder, and, if he be
inclined to wet his bed, he will not be able to avoid doing so. He must
not be allowed to drink much with his meals, especially with his supper.
Wetting the bed is an infirmity with some children—they cannot help it.
It is, therefore, cruel to scold and chastise them for it. Occasionally,
however, wetting the bed arises from idleness, in which case, of course,
a little wholesome correction might be necessary.
A water-proof cloth, or bed-sheeting, as it is sometimes called—one yard
by three-quarters of a yard—will effectually preserve the bed from being
wetted, and ought always, on these occasions, to be used.
A mother ought, every morning, to ascertain for herself whether her
child have wet his bed; if he have, and if unfortunately the water-proof
cloth have not been used, the mattress, sheets, and blankets must be
instantly taken to the kitchen fire and be properly dried. Inattention
to the above has frequently caused a child to suffer, either from a
cold, from a fever, or from an inflammation; not only so, but if they be
not dried, he is wallowing in filth and in an offensive effluvium. If
both mother and nurse were more attentive to their duties—in frequently
holding a child out, whether he asks or not—a child wetting his bed
would be the exception, and not, as it frequently is, the rule. If a
child be dirty, you may depend upon it the right persons to blame are
the mother and the nurse, and not the child!
261. _If a child should catch Small-pox, what are the best means to
prevent pitting?_
He ought to be desired neither to pick nor to rub the pustules. If he be
too young to attend to these directions, his hands must be secured in
bags (just large enough to hold them), which bags should be fastened
round the wrists. The nails must be cut very close.
Cream smeared by means of a feather, frequently in the day, on the
pustules, affords great comfort and benefit. Tripe-liquor has, for the
same purpose, been strongly recommended. I, myself, in several cases
have tried it, and with the happiest results. It is most soothing,
comforting, and healing to the skin.
262. _Can you tell me of any plan to prevent Chilblains, or, if a child
be suffering from them, to cure them?_
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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