[Illustration: A delicate child should never be put into the bath, but
bathed on the lap and kept warmly covered.]
1. The mother's milk is the natural food, and nothing can fully take its
place.
2. The infant's stomach does not readily accommodate itself to changes in
diet; therefore, regularity in quality, quantity and temperature is
extremely necessary.
3. Not until a child is a year old should it be allowed any food except
that of milk, and possibly a little cracker or bread, thoroughly soaked and
softened.
4. Meat should never be given to very young children. The best artificial
food is cream, reduced and sweetened with sugar and milk. No rule can be
given for its reduction. Observation and experience must teach that,
because every child's stomach is governed by a rule of its own.
5. A child can be safely weaned at one year of age, and sometimes less. It
depends entirely upon the season, and upon the health of the child.
6. A child should never be weaned during the warm weather, in June, July or
August.
7. When a child is weaned it may be given, in connection {320} with the
milk diet, some such nourishment as broth, gruel, egg, or some prepared
food.
8. A child should never be allowed to come to the table until two years of
age.