Children’s Typical Physical Regimen
| 1 to 2 Years 6: A.M. | 2 to 9 Years 6:30-7 A.M. | After 9 Years |
| Toilet | Wakens | (Same as 2-9 years.) |
| Milk | Stretching for circulation and gradual increase of heart action | |
| Some children at this age will remain quietly in bed for anhour after taking milk, when the schedule for children 2-9 for rising andbathing may be followed. Others are ready to be up, and these may have a cool sponge to chest and back, with bath at midday or evening. | Put on bathrobe and slippers, if cool | |
| Open bed to air | ||
| Taken to toilet | ||
| Teeth brushed; mouth rinsed | ||
| Drink of water | ||
| Vigorous exercise or play 2-5 minutes | ||
| Fruit juice | ||
| Face and hands washed, cool water | ||
| Rubbing of entire body, 2-4 minutes | ||
| (Rub from extremities toward heart) | ||
| Bath as prescribed, 2-4 minutes | ||
| Dressing: 5-15 minutes | ||
| (After three years, child should dress himself) | ||
| Bed, room, night clothes opened to air | ||
| Children who have not slept outdoors should get out for 5-20 minutes vigorous play before breakfast | ||
7:30-8:00 | ||
| Fruit juice; toilet | Breakfast | (Same as 2-9 years.) |
| Outdoors or play in open-air room | Toilet (time for regular bowel movement) | |
| Hands washed | ||
| Teeth brushed | ||
| Bed made, bedroom put in order | ||
| Outdoors by 9 A.M. (earlier in summer) | Outdoors ½-1 hour before school | |
| If inclement weather put on outdoor wraps; open windows in room for open-air play | Open-air school | |
10:00 A.M. | ||
| Toilet | Glass of water | Water |
| Mid-morning meal | ||
10:30 | ||
| Teeth brushed | Fruit | |
| Toilet | Toilet | |
| Outdoors | ||
11:30 | ||
| Undressed; drink | Hands washed, finger nails cleaned; preparation for dinner | |
12:00 | ||
| Bath; toilet; nap | Dinner | Dinner |
12:40 P.M. | ||
| Toilet | Outdoors ½-1 hour | |
| Hands washed | ||
| Undressed for bed; remove shoes, stockings, dress, waist, trousers | ||
1:30 | ||
| Toilet; dressed | In open-air school 1-3 hours | |
2:00 | ||
| Dinner | Toilet; dressed; bed made | |
2:30 | ||
| Toilet | Glass of water | |
| Outdoors | Outdoors, or open-air play indoors | Outdoors 2-4 hours |
4:30 | ||
| Drink water | Indoors; toilet, glass of water | |
| Hands washed, finger nails cleaned | ||
| (Warm bath 2 or 3 times week; cool sponge in summer) | ||
5:00 | ||
| Indoors; toilet | Supper | |
5:30 | ||
| Supper | Undressed; teeth brushed | |
| Face, neck, ears, feet washed | ||
6:00 | ||
| Undressed; teeth; toilet; in bed | In bed (6 to 9 years at 7:00) | Supper |
10:00 | ||
| Toilet | Toilet (until 6 years) |
Sleep. Quantity. All the sleep a child can get is so much of fortification against the inevitable stress of later years, as well as conducive to his immediate vitality, comfort, and good nature. Children vary individually; often, however, the nervous child who needs most sleep is least willing to take it. Children should sleep as much as they want to and should approximate the following amounts as a minimum.
Approximate Average Requirements[16]
| Age | Hours of Sleep | Time in Bed |
| 12 months | 15 | 6.00 P.M.-6.00 A.M. midday nap 2-3 hours |
| 1-4 years | 14 | 6.00 P.M.-6.00 A.M. midday nap 1-2 hours |
| 4-6 ” | 13 | 6.00 P.M.-6.00 A.M. 1 hour midday rest |
| 6-8 ” | 12 | 7.00 P.M.-7.00 A.M. 1 hour midday rest |
| 8-10 ” | 11½ | 7.30 P.M.-7.00 A.M. |
| 10-12 ” | 11 | 8.00 P.M.-7.00 A.M. |
| 12-14 ” | 10½ | 8.30 P.M.-7.00 A.M. |
| 14-16 ” | 10 | 9.00 P.M.-7.00 A.M. |
| 16-18 ” | 9½ | 9.30 P.M.-7.00 A.M. |
Conditions. 1. Bed alone. No one can sleep as comfortably or restfully with another person as alone. With little children, moral as well as physiological possibilities are to be considered.
2. Room alone, if possible, especially for children under six, that they may not be disturbed.
3. Outdoors if possible, on a sleeping porch, with bedding protected from dampness, and provision made for first warming the bed at night in cold weather.
4. Room cool and with current of outside air, if sleeping indoors. Temperature not above 60° F. and may be as low as 50° F. to advantage for normal children over six months, or 32° F. without harm, with ample bedding and warm night clothes. Warm wrapper or shawl should be provided to wrap around the child when taken out of bed.
5. Children beyond infancy (1½ years) should have their supper an hour before bedtime until eight or nine years of age, and thereafter two hours before bedtime. Children should be taken up for the toilet at a regular hour, either nine or ten o’clock, until six or eight years of age, to prevent bed-wetting or disturbed sleep.
6. Every condition should be provided for complete relaxation and sound sleep, not light semi-sleep. Among these conditions, besides the foregoing, are:
Lights extinguished in sleeping room;
Stationary bed that does not rock;
Story-telling before child is undressed, not after he is in bed, that the mind may not be filled with vivid images, or brain congested, when trying to sleep.
Evening stories should be quiet, restful, happy, without gruesome, melodramatic, exciting, or sad atmosphere.
Chanting, humming, rhythmic singing, is relaxing, and five or ten minutes of this after child is in bed may be advantageous, especially with nervous or unruly children.
Massaging down the back, in long slow strokes, Will relieve the congestion of the brain.
Give the child one toy to occupy his hands; prohibit more than one, to prevent mental activity.
Bedtime should not be a time of punishment, recalling of misdeeds, scolding; leave that until the child is most vital, in mid-morning or afternoon. Bedtime should be a quiet, happy time.
A thought impressed upon the child as he is falling to sleep, or directly after, especially if it is repeated for some days or weeks, is absorbed by the subconscious mind and has profound influence upon motives and action. The suggestion may be given aloud to the conscious mind while the child is still awake, or repeated softly or thought intensively, after the conscious mind is dulled by sleepiness.
The child should learn, from early babyhood, to go to sleep by himself, without a light, with the door closed. This is a most important training in self-reliance.
If these conditions are observed, sleep should be restful and undisturbed. Possible disturbing conditions may include constipation, indigestion, intestinal worms, nervousness. The matter should be reported to the physician. Bed-wetting may be overcome by taking the child up during the night, by giving no liquid after four o’clock, by promise of rewards, by mental suggestion. Circumcision may be needed. Punishment is worse than useless.
The Afternoon Nap. The same general conditions should be provided. The room or sleeping porch should be darkened, and ample ventilation and light covering provided. The outer clothing, shoes, stockings should be removed, and nightgown put on over the underwear; or the child may be completely undressed as at night. If the child is disinclined to sleep at nap time, use the spinal sponging with warm water, the spinal massage, and undress completely as at night. Even if the child does not sleep, he will receive the much-needed relaxation, and the resting of spine and heart, the work of which is greatly reduced while lying down.
Waking. The waking time should always be anticipated, and some one should be at hand to take the child at once to the toilet, to speak to him and reassure him. This is important both for physical and moral reasons. Waking should be a happy time.
Clothing. Clothing should be comfortable to body and mind; it should provide freedom of action and thought, cultivate modesty, simplicity, democracy, daintiness, avoiding self-consciousness or vanity.
Too much clothing keeps the skin moist, and is a cause of colds.
Distribute clothing judiciously; avoid overclothing trunk and chest, underclothing legs.
Underclothing. Use light-weight underwear and give additional warmth by extra wraps as needed. Adapt clothing to the actual weather conditions, not to traditions of seasons. Avoid sudden changes, as from heavy play suit to thin suit.
Underclothing may be all cotton or part wool.
Porous clothing is warm, holding a protecting layer of air; thick woven clothing is cold, preventing the evaporation of moisture from the skin. For hot weather use sleeveless or half-sleeve gauze vests.
Use side elastics to support the stockings, never the round garters. Select carefully the waist for attaching supporters; the “Ideal” waist is excellent.
Protect the ankles and legs with stockings or leggings in cold or changeable weather.
Keep the throat open, except in very cold weather, and then protect lightly.
Shoes and stockings should keep the feet warm and comfortable, not perspiring, cold, restricted.
Night clothes. A complete change should be made at night. After three years a shirt is not needed at night, except in very cold weather. When diapers are no longer needed, the nightdrawers may be worn, using those with feet for cold weather. For outdoor sleeping in cool weather a sleeping-bag of eiderdown is desirable, and a light hood. A flannel or eiderdown bathrobe and slippers should be provided for emergency and morning use.
Care. Begin to teach the child at one year to put his shoes neatly together; by two years to lay his clothes neatly when taken off, and to hang up wraps; by three years to fold; by four years to take care of all clothing as removed and keep his chiffonier in order. Provide low hooks and small, low, easy-working bureau drawers within reach of the child.
Keep soiled clothing in a ventilated receptacle, out of the sleeping room or kitchen.
Keep hats and wraps well brushed; shoes brushed and cleaned; after five years, children should care for shoes.
Readymade clothing should be washed before wearing. Much readymade clothing, whether cheap or expensive, is made in sweatshops and crowded tenements.
Children’s play clothes should be of such durable material and simple design that play may not be hampered through fear of soiling or injuring garments.
Avoid:
| Underwear: | Thick woven |
| Heavy cotton fleece-lined | |
| All or three-quarters wool (unless open weave and soft) | |
| Rough seams | |
| Corsets | |
| Stockings: | Thick, heavy |
| All wool | |
| Seams; much darned | |
| Round garters | |
| Tight hose supporters | |
| Shoes: | Patent leather or other non-porous material |
| Rough inside seams and soles | |
| Tight across toes, instep, or ankle | |
| Stiff, inflexible soles | |
| Rubber soles unless with leather insoles | |
| Too large or too small | |
| High heels | |
| Non-washable dresses or wraps for children under three years | |
| Elaborate, showy clothes | |
| Unbecoming clothes | |
| Wraps: | Fur or other heavy neck pieces |
| Mufflers, except in very cold weather, and for children under five | |
| Gloves in winter. (Mittens give better circulation) | |
| Rubbers or overshoes, except in rain or slippery weather | |
| Ear muffs | |
| Veils | |
| Unventilated hats | |
| Tight Clothing: Gloves, neckbands, waists, underwear, stockings, shoes | |
Ample size is especially important with growing children, and easily overlooked or neglected as they outgrow their clothes. Rubber in legs of readymade rompers is always too tight, and is better removed.
Bathing. Each child should have his own wash cloths and towels. Have a separate wash cloth and towel for the face, another cloth and Turkish towel for the body. Dry and sun wash cloths every day; boil them weekly.
Temperature of bathroom about 70° F. (65-70), with no drafts. Before the child is undressed, have everything ready, including the clothing to be put on.
Water and soap are irritating to eczema; use oil or, occasionally, water bath with bran.
The Cold Bath. The daily cold bath is of vital importance in training the skin to react quickly to temperatures, increasing the circulation, increasing the white blood corpuscles, and maintaining a high degree of vitality and resistance to illness, especially to colds, croup, coughs, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.
By careful attention to details, the cold bath can be given with a minimum of shock, and children enjoy it. It should be made as enjoyable as possible, and persisted in, even under protest. It should not be given, however, in a cold room. If the child has a cold, or the skin is cold and clammy, it should be given only to the throat, chest, and back. If the child is in a low vital condition, or does not react well otherwise, it may be preceded by a quick hot bath (98°-100°F.) to furnish body heat. The mildest form is to give it while the child lies in bed, quickly bathing and drying one part at a time. Ordinarily it can be given as follows, the whole procedure, including rubbing, not taking more than five minutes.
Let the child jump, run, or exercise vigorously for a few minutes before beginning the bath. Remove clothing and give a vigorous allover rub with hands or Turkish towels, rubbing from extremities toward the heart; let the child help in this and do it himself after four years. The child may stand with his feet in lukewarm water, or on a bath mat, not on a cold surface.
Temperature of the water should be at least down to 70° F. and as much lower as the child can take and react well. Salt (1 tablespoon to quart of water) gives a better reaction and lower range. Tepid water gives no tonic and may leave a chilly reaction. Have the wash cloth wet but not dripping. Wash quickly in the following order: (1) hand, arms; (2) neck, chest; (3) back, beginning at lower end; (4) legs, beginning with soles of feet; (5) abdomen. In this way the reflexes are bathed first, and the feeling of shock reduced, but the same valuable tonic results obtained. Dry quickly, rubbing with Turkish towels and hands. In cold weather, or if the skin is very dry, rub in quickly a little cocoa butter, olive oil, or cold cream. A spray with weak force, or pouring from a cup may begin in the second year; a strong spray or shower not until the fifth year.
The Warm Bath. For cleansing, the warm bath is needed two or three times a week in winter, and every day in hot weather. The body surface is relatively greater in children than in adults, and because of their greater activity and more rapid circulation, a relatively greater quantity of perspiration and waste material is constantly being poured out upon the skin. If this is not removed, it clogs the pores and thus keeps poisons within the body and prevents the normal absorption of oxygen through the skin.
The warm bath is best given at night, as a tub bath, before the supper, or an hour afterwards. When the bath is not given, the neck, ears, armpits, hands, and feet should be well washed. The water temperature should be 96°-98° F. A mild oil soap should be used moderately, such as Castile or Palmolive. The bath should be given in three minutes. Let the children splash in the tub for another three minutes, trying to swim. Always follow with the cold water to close the pores and prevent colds. This may be poured into the tub, to reduce the temperature to about 70°, or poured from a pitcher, or given with a spray, at 70°-80°, or given as a quick sponge at that temperature. Dry quickly and thoroughly, putting on a wrap to avoid chilling. If the child sleeps outdoors, the bath should be given an hour before bedtime in cool weather, or the oil rub may be given instead of water bath.
In hot weather children may have three or four sponge baths at 70°-80° during the day, or five-minute splashes in the tub at due intervals after meals.
The daily air bath is as much needed as the water, and should be given, with exercise and rubbing, if the water bath cannot be taken at the regular time. It is a tonic for the skin and gives the exercise to the nerves that cultivates resistance against colds.
Sun Baths. Sun baths, judiciously given, are also of great vitalizing value. In warm weather (70°-90° F.) children should be allowed to play outdoors with minimum of clothing, as sandals, white rompers or bathing trunks, and a light sun hat, for several hours a day, avoiding exposure of too hot sun (over 80°). Children not accustomed to this must begin gradually and may have a preliminary oil rub, to prevent either chill or sunburn. In cool weather, this may be given in the house, although the benefits are not so great, as the most effective (the violet) rays do not penetrate through glass. White or light colored clothing permits the penetration of light rays to the skin, and dark clothing prevents this; the former, therefore, is of greater vitalizing value. The sun and light baths are of great therapeutic value with nervous or anemic children. The tanning of the skin gives remarkable resistance.
The development of resistance through judicious use of baths and light, combined with deep breathing, would greatly reduce the mortality from colds, pneumonia, tuberculosis, which are the chief causes of death after infancy.
The Hands. Cleanliness of the hands is highly important both for sanitary and moral reasons. Therefore teach the child from babyhood, by example and precept, to always wash the hands:
1. Before touching food, either for eating, serving, or preparation, as a safeguard against infection
2. After eating, to prevent soiling of clothes, furniture, toys
3. After going to the toilet
4. Before going to bed
5. Before touching the eyes
The finger nails should be cleaned with an orange stick once a day, and before meals whenever dirty. To prevent hangnails, press the cuticle back around the nail every day. Trim finger nails round. A soft hand brush and Hand Sapolio, almond meal, or corn meal may be necessary for very dirty hands. Always dry thoroughly to prevent chapping, and in cold weather apply a lotion.
The Feet. Wash the feet every night when a bath is not given. Dry thoroughly between the toes. Perspiration is acid and soon causes soreness if it remains. Once a week trim the nails, cutting straight. If the feet are cold, put in cold (75°-80°F.) or hot (96°) water for three minutes, apply a 25 per cent. solution of alcohol, rubbing dry. If cold from exposure, always use the cold water. Chronically cold feet indicate wrong shoes, poor general circulation, or need of more exercise for feet. Corns, callouses, bunions, or misshapen toes can be prevented by using shoes that are comfortable and adapted to the shape of the foot.
The strength of the arch should be increased by foot exercises: (1) Rising slowly on the toes and slowly descending, keeping the weight of the body on the soles; (2) Alternately stretching the toes and the heel; (3) Massaging the ankles. Braces in the shoe prevent development of ankle muscles. Braces and arch supporters should be worn only on the advice and prescription of a physician, if possible, an orthopedic specialist. Much harm may be done by their wrong use.
Care of the Hair. During the second year the head should be washed two or three times a week, or oftener if scurf appears. Use Castile or Palmolive soap and rinse thoroughly to remove all soap and prevent formation of scurf. If a crust appears, gently rub in fresh lard, olive oil, or liquid vaseline at night, and wash off in morning; never use a comb or harsh rubbing to remove. During the third and fourth year shampoo weekly, and thereafter every two or three weeks.
The shampoo should be given in the daytime, when there is ample time and means for drying quickly and thoroughly, preferably in the sun. The scalp should be massaged five or ten minutes every day, through childhood, to promote good circulation in the scalp and keep it loose and clean, and the hair brushed thoroughly to remove dust. This is Nature’s own tonic, and more effective than any bought at the drugstore. If the hair is thin, olive or cocoanut oil or vaseline rubbed into the scalp will stimulate new growth. Going without a hat (except, of course, in cold weather or hot sun) is beneficial for the hair. The hairbrush should be soft, and brush and comb should be cleaned every week. Tangles should be patiently and gently brushed out; braiding will prevent them.
Curly or straight hair is hereditary, and curls can be only temporarily produced in naturally straight hair. Heated irons, metal curlers, tightly rolled curlers, dampening the hair, are all injurious. For curling, only soft rags, or kid, on which the hair is loosely rolled, should be used, and these not applied at night around the head, to interfere with comfort in sleep.
When hair is trimmed, it should not be shaved off close at the base of the head, as is sometimes the fashion, leaving this most sensitive part of the head and neck suddenly and unduly exposed.
If the eyelashes or eyebrows are short, stubby, rough, light, they may be improved and darkened by daily application of vaseline, and brushing with a soft, narrow toothbrush. Such attention adds greatly to the beauty and expressiveness of the face, and will be a cause of much gratitude in later years.
Nose. The nose should be kept clean. For children under four, it should be cleaned every morning with the liquid vaseline or warm water, using a sterile piece of twisted gauze which is immediately wrapped in paper and disposed of. Repeat at night and during the day, if the nose is not clean. At three years, children should be able to blow the nose, and this should be a regular part of toilet-making both morning and evening.
In blowing the nose, one side should be held closed, while the other side is blown. To blow both sides at once produces pressure in the ears that may cause injury. Nasal douches are to be avoided except in illness and by the physician’s orders.
Avoid (1) dusty air, as in the city streets, or in a room that is being cleaned; (2) overdry air, as in artificially heated rooms. Both of these are thought to promote adenoids. The former contains many disease germs. The latter drys the mucous membrane, preventing, therefore, its work of germ destruction, and producing uncomfortable, cracked membrane.
Throat. The throat is strengthened by the daily cold bathing of neck and chest. A child can learn to gargle at three or four years, and is then able to do it easily if soreness develops.
Ears. Wash the ears every day with warm water, making sure that no dirt remains in creases or behind the lobes. If wax accumulates, remove it with the twisted end of the wash cloth or gauze. Never put sharp instruments of any kind in the ear.
The lining of the inner ear is a continuation of the lining of the nose and throat. If the latter becomes infected, as with a cold, directly or from enlarged tonsils or adenoids, the infection is likely to continue into the ears, causing running ears, which may result in deafness.
The ears should not be made sensitive by cotton stuffing or ear muffs. In very cold weather, little children should wear a hood, and older children may do so with temperature below 40° F.
Never pull the ear lobe nor strike a child on the head; it may cause deafness. Teach children that blowing or shouting into the ear may produce deafness.
Teeth. After the first six teeth are cut, during the first year, it is advisable to have a small, soft brush to use with water, plain or with boric acid or bicarbonate of soda, after each feeding. This never should be neglected after eighteen months. Doctor Truby King advises giving the child a raw apple, a third of which has been peeled, and which is partially bruised until softened, following the midday feeding, after one year of age; munching this for ten minutes is a natural and effective method of cleaning the teeth. By four years of age, the child should be able to brush his teeth himself. Salt, bicarbonate of soda, or milk of magnesia are effective dentrifices. Patent pastes, powders, and liquids are expensive and of no more efficacy than the foregoing, their chief value probably consisting in the incentive they give to the use of the brush.
In brushing, the motion should be up and down, and rotary, as well as across the teeth; the inner and upper as well as the outer surfaces and the gums should be brushed. To safeguard against infection, teeth should not be cleaned over the hand basin, but into a receptacle for waste water.
Clean teeth will not decay. If the first teeth are allowed to decay, the second will not be sound. The rudiments of both sets of teeth are formed in the jaw before birth. The first teeth (20) are cut by thirty months; the first permanent teeth are the six-year molars; the second set are cut from six to twelve years of age. The enamel of the teeth is formed once for all during childhood. The substance of the teeth is mineral, chiefly lime. It will therefore be appreciated that the child needs abundance of mineral in order that he may have sound tooth material. This he can get only from mineral in his food (see page [169]), or, before his birth, from his mother’s diet. Good circulation in the jaws is also essential for normal development both for teeth and jaws, therefore the importance of some hard food every day after ten months.
The toothbrush should be selected with care. A good toothbrush is made with separate tufts, and with holes along the back, that it may more easily be kept clean. For children under three years it should be soft, for older children medium. The care of the brush is as important as its use. An unclean toothbrush may be a source of infection. It may be kept antiseptic by being very thoroughly rinsed, preferably under running water, then in borax water, or grain alcohol, and placed across hooks or a glass, bristle face down, to dry, after each using. Once or twice a week it should be thoroughly disinfected by drying in the sun, boiling in borax solution, or soaking in alcohol. It should receive thorough disinfection after each using, in case of influenza, tuberculosis, diphtheria, or other infectious disease.
Dental Examination. After one year of age the child should have a dental examination and tartar removed every six months. Any cavities should be filled, and irregular teeth straightened. A decaying tooth is a breeding place of germs which are carried, with the poisons they produce, to the stomach and thence through the system. Its sensitiveness compels the child to do his chewing entirely on the other side, spoiling the symmetry of the jaws, or to omit proper chewing. It causes pain that lowers the tone of the whole nervous system, produces irritable temper, and interferes with mental work.
At the slightest complaint of discomfort or the merest suspicion of decay, the child should go to the dentist for attention. Prevention saves both pain and expense. The dentist’s office should be a place of comfort, not of torture by reason of neglect and decay.
The Eyes. The eyes of mankind were called upon chiefly for long-distance seeing, observation of operations with coarse materials, and slow adjustment, until the past few hundred years of civilization with its printing, sewing, and other fine close work. The anatomy of the eye has not yet become adapted to these new demands.
The child’s eye is not fully developed. The shape of the eyeball is undergoing change during the first twenty years. Farsightedness is normal until from nine to twelve years of age.
Eyestrain will result, therefore, if the eyes are called upon for fine, close work during the first ten years. There is also a hereditary form of nearsight that can be detected as early as six years by the oculist, and that demands special care. Astigmatism (a structural defect causing blurred vision) is a prevalent cause of eyestrain. Squint and cross-eye, which are due to structural defect, require treatment in early childhood or babyhood to prevent the necessity of an operation, or possible blindness.
Even normal eyes will suffer if their use is abused. The following precautions should be observed with little children and taught to school children, as practices to be avoided for the sake of strong eyes:
Rubbing the eyes
Staring at a strong light
Watching a flickering light (as in moving pictures)
Sudden flash of strong light
Looking at pictures, reading, writing, drawing, or doing handwork, in poor light
Use of artificial light, for children under seven or eight years of age, for drawing, painting, reading, looking at pictures, or other fine work
Long application to close work at any age
Use of eyes for reading, pictures, or other fine work before breakfast
The child can be taught from babyhood to sit so that the light falls from the left upon his pictures or drawing, and not to sit either directly facing the window or with his back squarely against it.
Reading for five minutes requires more than a thousand separate movements of the eye,—as much work as is required of it in an hour of ordinary use; and the ciliary muscle, which controls the eye accommodation, probably is required in that five minutes to do as much work as in a day of ordinary seeing.
This has an important bearing upon the question of how early a child should begin reading, writing, sewing, or fine handwork; certainly, from the standpoint of hygiene, such work should be deferred until at least seven or eight years, and then begun only with the assurance of the oculist that the eyes can stand the strain.
School children should be taught to read with the best conditions, viz.:
Light from the left
Strong steady light
Light placed so it does not shine directly into the eyes and face
Not using the eyes before breakfast, as adjustment is slower and more difficult on first rising
Not reading on trains or other vehicles
Resting the eyes every fifteen or twenty minutes by looking up from the book at some distant object
Lamplight is easiest. Lights should always have a plain shade. Indirect lighting is best. Gaslight should have a Welsbach to give steady rays. White light is hard on the eyes; amber light, produced by amber shades, is easiest.
In selecting books for children, look for the following requirements:
Paper white or cream, without gloss
Lines short, preferably three inches
Margins wide
Print large
Wide spacing between lines
Certain contagious diseases of the eyes temporarily or permanently impair vision. At any sudden redness or white discharge, the child should be immediately taken to the physician, as blindness may follow in a few hours after infection, although it is preventable by a simple immediate treatment. Children should be warned never to use public towels or wash basins, or to touch the eyes with soiled handkerchief or dirty hands.
The eyes should be washed daily with the boric acid solution until three or four years of age, and after that with the plain or slightly salt water, using the boric acid whenever irritation or redness appears.
Motor Training and Poise. Provide some play apparatus that requires motor coördination.
12 months to 3 years. A stile, of one or two low steps, adjusted to the baby’s size, with handrail each side, on which he can climb up and down. Tenpins, large size ringtoss.
Use a small enamel cup for drinking, and let the child, when feeding, use his spoon and cup himself as early as he shows an inclination, which should be not later than a year and a half. Do not scold when he spills things while learning. By three years he should have control, and be held to strict carefulness and neatness in eating.
3 to 6 years. Jumping place, with elevation 1 to 2 feet from which to jump toward a marked space. Teach the child how to jump correctly, landing on the soles of the feet and bending the knees as he lands.
Car rail or substitute to walk along, preferably raised 1 to 6 inches from the ground. A single painted board 4 inches wide, or a painted mark 2 inches wide will answer.
Ringtoss more difficult
Throwing at a mark on the ground, floor, or wall
The fence for walking sidewise or for swinging from, as used by Montessori
Swinging rings and a horizontal bar
Marching, skipping, folk-dancing
Bad Posture. Good Posture. Bad Posture.
Bad Posture. Good Posture.
American Posture League Chair and Bookrest.
Courtesy of American Posture League.
From three years, let him carry his tray at meal time, with dishes and food.
Teach the child how to gain poise when he begins to feel worried, cross, nervous, excited:
a. Relaxing completely, sitting down if necessary
b. Taking long, slow, deep breaths
c. Sitting quietly for a few minutes to think,—with eyes shut, if thinking is thereby easier
d. Thinking of something funny
e. Getting away by himself, in a room, or out with nature
Posture. Find out what is good posture in sitting, standing, and walking, and see that the child maintains these. During childhood and youth the bones are still soft and yielding, readily altered in shape.
Stretching, throwing, swinging from rings or horizontal bars, climbing, rowing, swimming, are excellent preventive exercises, and useful for correction of curvatures or round shoulders. For the child’s use select chairs that are properly constructed (as most chairs are not) and a table at which he can work without stooping, changing such furniture to meet his needs as he grows.
Spinal curvature and round shoulders may be caused by rickets, eyestrain, partial deafness, improperly constructed chairs and tables, long sitting, insufficient outdoor life and physical activity, unequal strength of complementary muscles of back and chest, or of right and left sides, and by carrying always on one side.
Spinal curvature crowds the internal organs, interfering with the normal functioning of lungs, heart, blood supply, stomach, and intestines; it causes pressure upon the spinal nerves, and consequent disorders in remote parts of the body controlled by the affected nerves.
If curvature has developed, special gymnastics and training should be faithfully practiced in addition to removing the cause. Braces are inadvisable, preventing needed exercise. The correction of even the slightest curvature is important while the bones are still plastic. The special exercises should be prescribed by a physical director or physician.
Physical Exercises. A child who has ample outdoor play space, and clothes adapted to outdoor play is not likely to need any special exercises. For correcting abnormal or weak conditions, the following are effective:
1. Hanging from bar or swinging rings. (Figure 3.)
To overcome tendency toward spinal curvature, and to strengthen back and trunk muscles.
2. Lying on table, hard bed, or floor (covered by clean sheet or blanket); lift knees to chest, alternate legs four counts, then together four counts. (Figure 1.)
3. Same exercise in standing position.
4. Lying on hard, clean surface, lifting feet at right angles to trunk; alternate legs four counts; together four counts. (Figure 2.)
Exercises 2, 3, and 4 are valuable in overcoming constipation, promoting digestion, strengthening trunk muscles, increasing circulation to trunk and pelvis.
5. Lying on hard surface, arms folded, feet held down, rise to sitting position. Four counts. (Figure 4.)
6. Same position, but hands clasped back of head. Four counts.
7. Same position, but arms extended above head. Four counts. (Figure 5.)
Exercises 5, 6, and 7 strengthen trunk, chest, and back muscles and have also the values of 2, 3, and 4.
All exercise should begin slowly and be done steadily. Especially with trunk exercises there should be no sudden, jerking movements. One who is unaccustomed to these exercises should begin with the easiest, (2) and (5), and gradually begin the more severe ones.
Exercises for Trunk, Chest, and Back.
These exercises are especially important for girls, who are likely to miss the climbing and tumbling exercises that their brothers enjoy. Girls especially need the straight spine, the strong trunk muscles, and the thorough pelvic circulation.
8. Lying on a hard surface, knees bent, forcibly contract and expand the abdominal wall. By placing the hand on the abdomen, the sinking and rising of the abdominal wall is easily marked.
This is a very mild exercise for increasing circulation in the trunk and pelvis, thereby promoting digestion, overcoming constipation, and strengthening the pelvic organs.
Preventing or Overcoming Nervousness. Nervousness may express itself as:
Irritability, peevishness
Temper, tantrums, lack of emotional control
Poor coördinations, dropping things, shuffling in walking, waddling gait, inability to hit a mark or walk on a straight line.
Lack of motor control; involuntary jerkings of muscles, twitchings (chorea or St. Vitus’ dance)
Restless sleep, disturbed sleep, nightmares, sleeplessness
Masturbation
Bed-wetting, weakness of kidneys
Nail-biting
Fears
Silliness, simpering
Inability to learn
Inability to carry out a plan; much dreaming that never attains to expression in action
Marked nervous defects, such as imbecility, idiocy, epilepsy, manias, cannot be more than mentioned here. They may be present from birth, or may develop later. Their treatment belongs entirely to the field of the physician, neurologist, and psychopathologist. Treatment of mental defects should begin at the earliest possible age; some forms are curable if treated early.
Nervousness may be due to physical or psychological conditions. It may appear at any age. Its causes may be immediate or may lie farther back in childhood, infancy, or heredity. As the nervous system was the latest to evolve, it is therefore the least stable, and the most likely to suffer under stress of conditions. If there is a heredity in either branch of the family, either of marked nervous defect, alcoholism, or neurasthenia, special precautions should from the first be taken to overcome this predisposition in the child.
Other causes of nervousness in children include:
Irregularity of régime
Poor nutrition
Constipation
Insufficient sleep, fatigue
Indoor life
Decaying teeth
Adenoids or enlarged tonsils
Eyestrain
Fine handwork, or reading; or other abuse of eyes
Pressure of school work
Undue excitement such as crowds, parties, theaters
Tickling, teasing, nagging, tossing
Masturbation
Suppression of curiosity regarding sex phenomena
Suppressing expression of interests, curiosity, or emotion
Worry or unhappiness
Threats of fearsome punishment
Cultivating of fear by “scaring”, telling of grewsome or unhappy stories, seeing exciting picture plays
Lack of training in self-control
Preventing nervousness is a matter of preventing these causes; overcoming is a matter of removing the cause and conducting a constructive program of physical régime and psychological treatment. The physical régime will include regularity, free outdoor life and play, open-air sleeping, frequent rest periods, nutritious diet, with special attention to sufficiency of mineral and laxative foods, and use of relaxing or energizing exercises.
Rhythm through instrumental music that is listened to, or in dancing, marching, gymnastic exercises, and singing, is of great value in overcoming nervousness. Cheerful, happy, comfortable stories and pictures will supply mental images to replace the disturbing ones, especially before bedtime.
Relief from intestinal worms and local irritation, or circumcision, may remove the cause of masturbation. The child’s questions regarding sex phenomena should always be answered wholesomely, reverently, sufficiently to give him a true perspective and to satisfy his natural curiosity.
The substitution of large muscle work, as with large blocks, balls, carpenter tools, will provide activity without taxing nerve ends of fingers. Examination by the oculist (not optician) will locate eyestrain. Opportunity for expression of wholesome emotions and interests will remove tension and sense of suppression.
Interests or emotions that appear unwholesome or abnormal should be patiently and thoroughly analyzed to discover the germ of good that is in them, and to utilize this; consultation with a physician, teacher, minister, social worker, or psychologist, may be enlightening. Wholesome emotions and interests should have encouragement for full expression, limited by the strength of the child and courtesy due to others.
Detect fatigue symptoms: (a) the tenseness shown by flushed face, rapid, labored breathing, excitement, erratic movements; or (b) relaxation shown by listlessness, indifference, irritability, forgetfulness. Fatigue not only overstrains the nerves; it develops poisons in the blood that affect the whole system.
Fears are a difficult problem. Make a list of the things it is observed the child fears, such as the dark, cats, dogs, flies, etc. Gradually, slowly, patiently lead him to acquaintance with these, and therefore to his own destruction of the fear. Teach him to memorize quotations that ring with confidence, faith, courage.
Cultivate self-control through regularity of regimen, the example of poise, the denying of any object that is screamed for, or cried for, the inculcating of an ideal of self-control through story-telling.
Sex Hygiene. This is both a physiological and a psychological problem. Both phases must always be recognized.
Physiological Hygiene. In infancy, keep the special organs clean as directed in Chapter VI. Consult a physician regarding the advisability of circumcision; this is needed in about twenty per cent. of boys, and is often advisable in others; it is sometimes required in girls.
Take special care that clothing is not rough, tight, or irritating about the genitals; therefore avoid (a) underdrawers with more than one-quarter wool; some children with sensitive skin should have even these lined with thin cotton gauze; (b) drawers cut too short or shallow in the seat (a defect in some ready-made styles); (c) trousers too short or tight or with rough seams; (d) suspenders too short, that pull the trousers too tight; trousers during first six years should not have opening in front.
With young children, watch for any local irritation or discharge. For the former, use local applications of boric solution as a wash, followed by a starch powder or zinc ointment. Discover the cause; it may be rough or damp clothing, intestinal worms, acid urine due to excess of sugar or meat in the diet, or to insufficient drinking water. Alkaline diet, or a pinch of soda in the drinking water for a few days, will help to counteract the acidity. As the child grows older, beyond six years, encourage him to report to you any irritation, and teach him how he should relieve it.
If a discharge appears, of mucous, whitish, or greenish matter, report the matter immediately to the physician, and take every precaution against infection; use a local wash of boric acid, double strength, cleanse the hands with antiseptic solution, sterilize the child’s wash cloths, towels, underdrawers, and bedding, and let him have his separate wash basin, chamber, and bath until the physician gives assurance of no contagious disease.
Teach the child to always wash the hands after going to the toilet. See that the hands are outside the bed covers at night; they may be folded under the cheek, or the child may have a doll or toy animal to hold. Be watchful, but do not let the child ever surmise that you mistrust, suspect, or even watch him in these matters.
Avoid soft beds and especially feather beds, which are enervating and are overheating to the spinal nerves.
Teach children never to use a public drinking cup or towel; and never to sit on a public toilet, even in public school, without first laying a paper over it so they do not come directly in contact with the seat.
Avoid stimulating foods, such as condiments, or an excess of meat—more than 2 or 3 ounces a day.
Avoid excitement by late hours, especially late dancing parties, during adolescence. Set a standard of ten o’clock closing for school or home dances for these young people. Teach them to find recreation not dissipation.
Psychological. Cultivate respect for the body and reverence for its creative work and organs, for motherhood, fatherhood, and birth of any creature.
Cultivate a sense of modesty in both girls and boys from babyhood.
Inculcate in boys a spirit of chivalry toward all girls and women; in girls, a sense of reserve, and an appreciation of their responsibility for the social and moral standards of boys.
Instill a personal ideal of worthy fatherhood and motherhood; this may begin incidentally at two or three years of age.
Give instruction in the biology of reproduction in plants, emphasizing the protection, care, and forethought for the young. The child naturally sees all the phenomena of life in an impersonal and wholesome, that is, a scientific way. Cultivate this attitude in him and in yourself.
Before children begin going to school, see that they are informed sufficiently about the origin and birth of human life so that they will no longer be curious or interested if unwholesome talk is presented. Ill-trained children or unscrupulous adults usually sense a well-informed and wholesome-minded child and are less likely to present any vulgar conversation in his presence.
The boy will early meet with superstitions and perverted ideals among his companions, particularly after twelve years, when the influence of parents and teachers is waning before that of his companions. Therefore teach him before this age that he has a great trust,—to protect these organs sacredly for his children until he is grown and is wise enough to be a father; that these organs are not like muscles which must be used to develop and preserve their function, but that they are glands, secreting fluids as other internal organs do, like the spleen or the thyroid gland, and that these fluids are needed for the well-being of the whole body; that the boys who ignorantly think otherwise or act otherwise are greatly injuring and weakening themselves.
Prepare both boy and girl, by instruction at about eleven years of age, for the physical changes that are before them, so they will not be surprised or frightened when these changes come. Thus prepared, they will not ignorantly resort to measures that may produce lifelong illness, or fall into the net of quacks, evil-minded men or women, or ignorant companions.
Avoid taking the children to the theater before twelve or fourteen years of age, and make it an event worth while. Be sure beforehand that the play is clean and wholesome and not overstimulating. Never allow children to go to theaters or picture plays without a responsible older person. Be your children’s companion in drama and in fiction as long as possible,—as long as you can see with their eyes and their interests.
Keep children occupied with handwork, physical activity, and outdoor life. It is the child with nothing to do, living an overfed, indoor, uncontrolled life, who has every condition for falling into temptation.
Cultivate an appreciation and taste for good literature, poetry, sculpture, painting, music. Provide abundance of good and wholesome books.
Teach children from babyhood that to follow merely the instincts and the line of least resistance, to act merely from impulse and emotion, is unworthy of a human being.
Foster idealism and religion, which have always been the great bulwarks of the soul and the refiners of instincts.
City or Country Life. That the country provides more natural physical conditions and health opportunities is self-evident. The open air, the larger space and facilities for muscular exercise, the freedom from artificial excitement, are all essential to vitality. The marked differences between city and country children in height, weight, chest girth, strength of grip, vitality, endurance, are attested by the statistics of special investigators as well as by general observation. The chest girth of country girls more nearly approaches the average for boys of the same age than does that of city girls. It is true that in sanitation the rural districts and small towns have not kept pace with the large cities. Ventilation, drainage, water supply, disposal of sewage, clean milk, the reporting and control of infectious diseases, are too often neglected in rural districts. The improvement of these sanitary conditions is part of the responsibility of the home-maker.
The School and Physical Health. The weight of medical, biological, and psychological authority of such experts as G. Stanley Hall, John Dewey, Arthur Holmes, Lightner Witmer, Thomas D. Wood, J. M. Tyler, is decidedly against prevailing unhygienic practices of the schools, such as home study for children under high school age; nerve-racking academic examinations; fine work in reading and writing for children under nine years of age; indoor school life for young children; artificial, sedentary life instead of physical activity during school age; the over emphasis of the mental and the neglect of the motor activities.
In a recent volume, “The Health of the Child,” Lewis M. Terman writes:
“The close correlation of morbidity with years of school attendance and with the progress of the school term; the deterioration of attention toward the end of the school year; the damaging effects of strenuous school activities upon appetite, digestion, metabolism and the constitution of the blood; the ill-effects from deprivation of fresh air and healthful exercise; the impairment of nervous coördinations and the profound disturbances reflexly produced by worry—these and other injurious effects have been sufficiently attested to justify the most vigorous prosecution of reform in matters of educational hygiene.
“We have taken the child out of its natural habitat of open air, freedom, and sunshine, and for nearly half his waking hours we are subjecting him to an unnatural régime, one which disturbs all the vital functions of secretion, excretion, circulation, respiration, and nutrition.”