TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
Italic text is denoted by _underscores_.
Some minor changes to the text are noted at the end of the book.
[Illustration: MOTHERHOOD]
CHILDREN
WELL AND HAPPY
A MANUAL FOR
THE GIRLS’ HEALTH LEAGUE
BY
MAY BLISS DICKINSON, R.N.
PUBLISHED UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE
MASSACHUSETTS STATE FEDERATION
OF WOMEN’S CLUBS
LEROY PHILLIPS
BOSTON
COPYRIGHT, 1918
BY MAY BLISS DICKINSON
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
TO
MY MOTHER
MALAH BLISS DICKINSON
“Earth’s noblest thing, a woman perfected”
CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. PERSONAL HYGIENE 1
II. HOME SANITATION 16
III. THE NEWBORN BABY 29
IV. BREAST FEEDING 38
V. BOTTLE FEEDING 46
VI. CARE OF THE BABY’S FOOD 55
VII. CARE OF THE BABY’S BODY 63
VIII. THE BABY’S CLOTHING 71
IX. HABITS AND TRAINING 78
X. THE BABY’S TEETH 88
XI. EMERGENCIES 93
APPENDIX A. ORGANIZATION OF THE GIRLS’
HEALTH LEAGUE CLASSES 103
APPENDIX B. RECIPES 110
INDEX 113
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Motherhood Frontispiece
Correct Posture when Standing 2
Wrong Way to carry Schoolbooks 5
Right Way to carry Schoolbooks 5
Section of the Skin 7
The Correct Kind of Toothbrush 9
Ideal Ventilation 20
The Baby’s Bed 34
Model Birth Certificate 36
Weighing the Baby 44
Modification of the Milk 49
Pasteurizing the Baby’s Milk 53
Homemade Refrigerator 56
Filling the Baby’s Bottles 57
Testing the Temperature of the Milk 60
Correct Way to Hold the Baby while Feeding 61
Bathing the Baby 64
Baby Clothes 72
Nose and Throat Passages—Normal and
abnormal 80
Baby Exercising 86
Child brushing his Teeth 90
Bath Thermometer 95
Protecting the Baby from his Mother’s Cold 99
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this book is to give schoolgirls definite help in
learning how to keep themselves and other children well and happy.
The problem is a double one: How can we best safeguard the health of
our schoolgirls? and What can we do through them to save the babies?
To the first question the answer is that we can teach the girls the
sacredness of life by instructing them in personal hygiene and in the
care of the home. The object of such instruction is to give each girl a
“sound mind in a sound body” and to fit her for a woman’s work in the
world. The solution of the second part of the problem is to be found
in the careful training of the schoolgirl in the general principles of
hygiene as applied to babies.
Because the Health League classes reach the girls during their
formative years, they offer a splendid opportunity to establish those
habits of life that make for health and consequent happiness and
usefulness. Now as never before we are coming to realize that the
strength of a nation depends primarily on the spiritual and physical
health of its citizens and also on the training of its children to
assume in later years their duties as fathers and mothers.
The author wishes to express her appreciation and gratitude to the many
persons who have manifested interest in the work of the Girls’ Health
League, which was launched under the auspices of the Massachusetts
State Federation of Women’s Clubs. She wishes also especially to thank
the following: Mrs. Herbert J. Gurney, President of the Massachusetts
State Federation of Women’s Clubs, for her encouragement; Dr.
Payson Smith, Commissioner of Education of Massachusetts, for his
indorsement; John B. Hawes, 2d, M. D., for his criticism and advice;
Margaret V. Grogan, M. D., for her medical assistance; Miss Florence
Hilton, Director of Physical Education, Framingham public schools, for
illustrations of posture; G. W. Cokell of Framingham for photographic
work of unusual value; the Tri-Ad Studio artists for their excellent
designs.
MAY BLISS DICKINSON, R. N.
FOREWORD
May this little book go forth bearing words of healing, health, and joy
to you who faithfully study them, and, also, to those little ones whom
the kind Father may place in your arms in the wonderful years to come.
MRS. SAMUEL W. McCALL
CHILDREN WELL AND HAPPY
CHAPTER I
PERSONAL HYGIENE
=Suggestions for demonstrations. 1.= Demonstrate the correct posture
when standing, walking, and sitting. =2.= Show the right and wrong
kinds of shoes. =3.= Demonstrate the correct way of carrying
schoolbooks. =4.= Show samples of soap—pure castile, Ivory, and a
cheap scented variety—and explain the right and wrong uses of soap.
Personal hygiene may be defined as the wise and systematic care of the
body. The reasons why every girl should take care of her body are:
First, good health means power to do one’s work in life well.
Second, health is an aid to happiness and personal attractiveness.
[Illustration: CORRECT POSTURE WHEN STANDING]
Good health helps to give a person an active, cheerful mind, and this
makes one alert, capable, and able to work to the best advantage. Good
health gives poise and grace to the body and helps to create efficiency.
The following are good rules:
1. Form health-giving habits.
2. Let keeping well and happy be one of your most important duties.
The person who honestly wishes to be useful must begin at once to make
good health a certainty.
RULES FOR CORRECT POSTURE
=Standing.= We should stand correctly in order that the organs of the
body—heart, lungs, stomach, liver, and kidneys—may have room and be in
position to do their work well. We should stand erect, chin in, chest
high, abdomen flat, and with the weight of the body resting on the
balls of the feet.
=Walking.= In walking the weight of the body should be thrown well
forward.
It is correct to let the heel touch the ground first, but the weight
should very quickly be transferred to the ball of the foot. The correct
position of the feet is with the toes pointed straight forward. This
straight-foot position is characteristic of our best athletes, our
native Indians, and others who are noted for great endurance in running
and walking. Two things are essential: stockings should be a little
longer than the feet, and shoes should be roomy at the toes and have
heels not more than one inch high.
=Sitting.= As our schoolgirls sit many hours each day, it is vital
to their health that they sit correctly. When sitting, one should
push back in the chair as far as possible. In the resting position
the entire trunk should lean backwards against the back of the chair;
the hips should not be allowed to slide forward in the seat. In the
active position the trunk is held erect or inclined forward. When
leaning forward in a sitting position, the trunk must be held erect or
inclined forward, and the bending should be from the hips, not from the
waistline. Girls should not sit on one foot nor with the knees crossed,
as these positions interfere with the circulation. When a person is
sitting, the feet may be crossed if a change of position is desired.
[Illustration: WRONG WAY TO CARRY SCHOOLBOOKS
RIGHT WAY TO CARRY SCHOOLBOOKS]
=Carrying of schoolbooks.= In going to and from school, books should
be carried on the right arm one day, on the left arm the next day, or
they may be divided and carried partly on each arm. Of course the best
plan is not to carry many books home. All pupils should prepare as many
lessons during the study periods of each school day as classes will
permit.
=Position when reading.= Children should be taught at an early age not
to let the light, either natural or artificial, shine in their eyes.
The strongest light should come from the left. Light from above is the
best. One should not read too long at any one time without looking up
at some distant object in order to rest the muscles of the eyes.
CARE OF THE SKIN
The skin is the outer covering of the body. It serves as a protection
to the body and as an organ of excretion. Many waste products which
would act as poisons if retained in the body are carried away through
the pores of the skin by means of perspiration. This perspiration is
produced by sweat-producing glands. Closely related to these are the
oil-producing glands. The constant presence of perspiration and oily
material from the glands makes it important that the skin be kept clean
so that the pores may not become clogged.
[Illustration:
hair
epidermis
sweat gland
dermis
SECTION OF THE SKIN]
=Handkerchiefs.= It is important that the child be supplied with
clean handkerchiefs and be taught the proper use of them. A child
should be told never to use a handkerchief belonging to anyone else. A
handkerchief should be held before the nose or mouth when coughing or
sneezing. One should never spit on the sidewalk, in the house, or in
any public place.
BATHS
=Cleansing bath.= The most important bath is the cleansing bath of warm
water and soap, which should be taken at night or after exercise. After
taking this bath one should dash or rub cold water over the skin. The
body should be quickly dried and given a brisk rubbing with a coarse
towel to increase the circulation.
=Cold bath.= A cool sponge bath, taken the first thing in the morning,
has a stimulating effect on the body. It sends the blood to the skin
and quickens the circulation. This bath should be followed by a brisk
rubdown with a rough towel. A cold plunge bath should not be taken
without the advice of a physician, as cold baths are not beneficial to
everyone.
[Illustration: THE CORRECT KIND OF TOOTHBRUSH]
=Brushing the teeth.= The greatest factor in preventing decay of the
teeth is cleanliness. The teeth should be brushed the first thing
in the morning and the last thing at night, and, when convenient,
should be rinsed after eating. The lower teeth should be brushed with
a half-rotary motion up, and the upper teeth should be brushed down.
This will assist in removing particles of food from the teeth and will
prevent injury to the gums. Dental floss should be used between the
teeth. Coarse food which requires much chewing strengthens the teeth
and is excellent for the digestion.
It is well to use a simple mouth wash of one-half teaspoonful of soda
or salt in a glass of tepid water. Have the dentist clean the teeth
twice a year; do not wait until the teeth ache before going to the
dentist.
FOOD
Food is that which supplies nourishment to our bodies. Although many
elements enter into the composition of what we eat, food is roughly
divided into three classes: proteids, carbohydrates, and fats. Some
foods contain all of these elements; others contain only one or two of
them.
=Proteids.= The proteids build and repair the tissues of the body and
include such substances as the lean of meat and fish, the white of
egg, milk, and parts of vegetables. Dried peas, dried beans, and nuts
contain large percentages of proteid.
=Carbohydrates (sugars and starches).= Carbohydrates form the essential
parts of vegetables and furnish body heat and muscular power. Foods
containing a large percentage of starch are bread, potatoes, rice,
macaroni, tapioca, and cereals. Such foods as candy, maple sirup,
honey, and molasses are almost entirely sugar; while carrots, parsnips,
and beets contain a large percentage of sugar.
=Fats.= Fats are the energy-producing part of our diet. They may be
of either vegetable or animal origin—as cream, butter, yolks of eggs,
nuts, meat, and fish fats.
=Mixed diet.= A mixed diet consisting of all the food elements in
proper proportion is necessary to supply material for the normal growth
of the body. Everyone should eat vegetables freely not only because
they are good for the bowels (acting as a wholesome laxative) but
also because many of them, especially the green vegetables, contain
important organic matter, such as iron.
=Bread and butter.= Bread has often been called the staff of life. In
other words, bread and butter alone form an almost perfectly balanced
meal. Bread should never be eaten until it is at least twenty-four
hours old. Stale bread cut thin and toasted in the oven until it is
crisp is appetizing and wholesome. Instead of giving large amounts
of bread and butter to children three times a day, mothers should
substitute in part vegetables and fruits.
=Coarse foods.= Coarse foods are especially valuable because they
require thorough mastication, which is the real function of the teeth.
This helps to keep the tongue and teeth clean. Another reason for
giving coarse foods to children is that the circulation of blood in the
gums and throat is improved by chewing.
=Milk.= Milk contains all the essential elements of a well-balanced
diet and is one of the most important foods. It should be taken slowly
and with other food, such as graham crackers, and should constitute
an important part of the diet of every child. Children up to fourteen
years of age should take milk, or milk flavored with cocoa, in the
place of tea and coffee.
=Water.= While water is not classed as a food, it makes up three fifths
of the total of the fluids of the body and aids in the elimination of
the waste products of the body. All foods contain some water, while
fruits and vegetables are largely composed of it. A glass of water
should be taken before breakfast, in the middle of the morning, and in
the afternoon, and two glasses in the evening. One glass may be taken
with the meals if it is taken after the food in the mouth has been
swallowed. Six or eight glasses of water should be taken during every
twenty-four hours.
=Candy.= Many people believe that candy is harmful. This is because
children, and indeed adults, are apt to eat it at the wrong time and to
eat too much of it at one time; nevertheless it has high food value,
and a little pure candy eaten once a day, after a meal, is healthful.
=Bowels.= When there is any trouble with the stomach or bowels look
for the cause in some mistake or indiscretion in the diet. The family
physician should be consulted.
=Care of the bowels.= The bowels should move at least once every day.
A regular habit of bowel movement can and should be formed. The best
time is in the morning, after breakfast. Many of the head-aches,
muddy, pimply complexions, and bad tempers are due to constipation.
This condition may be relieved by exercise, by the eating of coarse
food, vegetables, fruits, such as apples, prunes, and oranges, and by
drinking plenty of water.
=Exercise.= Exercise, as either work or play, is necessary because
it stimulates the action of all the organs of the body. The blood
circulates more freely during exercise, and more waste products are
thrown off. One should not take violent exercise immediately after
eating; neither should one exercise when unduly fatigued. Work must be
wisely alternated with play and rest, because efficiency ends when a
person becomes overtired.