The Physical Training of ChildrenChavasse, Pye Henry
Science
The Physical Training of Children
Chavasse, Pye Henry
Child care; Children -- Health and hygiene
_Treatment of night-terrors._—If they have been caused by the folly of
the nurse, discharge her at once, and be careful to select a more
discreet one. When the child retires to rest leave a candle burning, and
let it burn all night; sit with him until he be asleep; and take care,
in case he should rouse up in one of his night-terrors, that either you
yourself or some kind person be near at hand. Do not scold him for being
frightened—he cannot help it; but soothe him, calm him, fondle him, take
him into your arms, and let him feel that he has some one to rest upon,
to defend and to protect him. It is frequently in these cases necessary
before he can be cured to let him have change of air and change of
scene. Let him live in the daytime, a great part of the day, in the open
air.
A nurse-maid should never, on any account whatever, be allowed to whip a
child. “Does ever any man or woman remember the feeling of being
‘whipped’ as a child, the fierce anger, the insupportable ignominy, the
longing for revenge, which blotted out all thought of contrition for the
fault or rebellion against the punishment? With this recollection on
their own parts, I can hardly suppose any parents venturing to inflict
it, much less allowing its infliction by another under any circumstances
whatever. A nurse-maid or domestic of any sort, once discovered to have
lifted up her hand against a child, ought to meet instant severe rebuke,
and on a repetition of the offense instant dismissal.”
I have seen in the winter time a lazy nurse sit before the fire with a
child on her lap, rubbing his cold feet just before putting him to his
bed. Now this is not the way to warm his feet. The right method is to
let him romp and run either about the room, or the landing, or the
hall—this will effectually warm them; but, of course, it will entail a
little extra trouble on the nurse, as she will have to use a little
exertion to induce him to do so, and this extra trouble a lazy nurse
will not relish. Warming the feet before the fire will give the little
fellow chilblains, and will make him when he is in bed more chilly. The
only way for him to have a good romp before he goes to bed, is for the
mother to join in the game. She may rest assured, that if she does so,
her child will not be the only one to benefit by it. She herself will
find it of marvelous benefit to her own health; it will warm her own
feet, it will be almost sure to insure her a good night, and will make
her feel so light and buoyant as almost to fancy that she is a girl
again! Well, then, let every child, before he retire to bed, hold a high
court of revelry, let him have an hour—the Children’s Hour—devoted to
romp, to dance, to riot, and to play, and let him be the master of the
revels—
“Between the dark and the daylight,
When the night is beginning to lower,
Comes a pause in the day’s occupation,
Which is known as the Children’s Hour.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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