Drugs are bad things. You may ruin a child by giving it soothing drugs and advertised medicines. They sometimes produce constipation. Never neglect the bowels if they become stopped, or you may bring on inflammation. Children's illnesses often are brought on by damp floors; you can trace them to the evening that the boards were washed. A flood of water could not dry without damping the room and the children.
Bowed legs come from walking too soon. It does baby good to lie down and kick about, for crawling and climbing exercise his muscles.
The best remedy, if you find a child suffering from convulsions, is to place it in a warm bath, as hot as your bare elbow can endure.
Childhood is the time to form the body; it cannot be altered when you are grown up.
Clothing
Children's clothes should be warm but light, and the feet and legs should be kept warm and dry. To put on their stockings, turn the toe in a little way, and poke the toes into the end, then pull over a little at a time, instead of putting the foot in at the knee of the stocking. Put the left stocking on the right foot next day, so as to change them every day.
Flannelette is made of cotton, so it is not warm like wool, and it catches fire easily, as cotton-wool does.
Rubber is most unhealthful, and causes paralysis. Don't sit on rubber or on oilcloth unless covered, and never put rubber next to the skin.
Thermometers
