Amusing Baby.—Mothers should understand that it is not necessary to amuse a baby under one year of age. Their nervous systems are not ready for any such sport. To excite a baby to laughter is to subject it to a shock which may injure it. The healthy development of the brain of a child demands quiet and restful surroundings. It should sleep, eat, and be allowed to amuse itself in a natural way.
Temperature in Children.—The normal temperature in a child varies more than it does in an adult. The rectal range may be between 98° and 99.5° F. and may be normal to that particular child. A rectal temperature of 97.5° F. or of 100.5° F. is of no importance unless it continues.
The best place to take the temperature in a child is the rectum and the next best place is in the groin. The temperature will always be from a half to a full degree higher in the rectum than in the groin. The thermometer should be left in the rectum for two minutes, and in the groin for five minutes.
The temperature in a child is a very fair guide as to the severity of the disease. It must be remembered, however, that a child will develop a temperature of two or three degrees from a very slight cause. It is not the height of the fever that is significant, but rather the duration of the fever that is important. A fever of 102° F. in a child may only mean a slight indigestion which will wholly disappear after a laxative is given, while the same degree of temperature in an adult usually means something much more serious. The degree of the temperature therefore should not occasion unnecessary worry; if, however, it continues and if the child shows other signs of illness, it may be regarded as indicating an abnormal condition which should be immediately found out. A temperature of 100° F. to 102° F. usually means a mild illness, and one of 104° F. or over, a serious sickness.
It is not advisable that the ordinary mother should possess a clinical thermometer. There are many occasions when a child will have a fever which should not cause any worry; if the mother gets the thermometer habit, she will many times occasion unnecessary calls of the physician only to learn that they are false fears.
The Teeth.—There is no definite time at which the first teeth appear. They usually come between the sixth and eighth months. They may not, however, come until much later; or they may come earlier than the sixth month; and yet the child may be perfectly healthy. They come as a rule in the following order:
| 1. The two lower middle teeth, | 6 to 8 months. |
| 2. The four upper middle teeth, | 8 to 10 months. |
| 3. One on each side of two lower middle teeth, | 8 to 12 months. |
| 4. One on each side, above and below, back of above teeth (four in all), | 12 to 15 months. |
| 5. The next one on each side, above and below, back of those already in (four in all), | 18 to 24 months. |
| 6. The four back teeth on each side, above and below, | 24 to 30 months. |
| At 1 year a child should have | 6 teeth |
| At 1-1-2 years a child should have | 12 teeth |
| At 2 years a child should have | 16 teeth |
| At 2-1-2 years a child should have | 20 teeth |
They may not come in the above regular order even in well children. The upper front teeth may come first. If the child is sickly there may be marked irregularity in the order in which they appear. Twenty teeth comprise the first set.
The Permanent Teeth.—This set consists of thirty-two teeth. They begin about the sixth year and they are usually not complete until the twentieth year. They appear in the following order: