1. MISMANAGEMENT.--Every doctor knows that a large share of the ills
to which infancy is subject are directly traceable to mismanagement.
Troubles of the digestive system are, for the most part due to errors,
either in the selection of the food or in the preparation of it.
2. RESPIRATORY DISEASES.--Respiratory diseases or the diseases of the
throat and lungs have their origin, as a rule, in want of care and
judgment in matters of clothing, bathing and exposure to cold
and drafts. A child should always be dressed to suit the existing
temperature of the weather.
3. NERVOUS DISEASES.--Nervous diseases are often aggravated if not
caused by over-stimulation of the brain, by irregular hours of sleep,
or by the use of "soothing" medicines, or eating indigestible food.
4. SKIN AFFECTIONS.--Skin affections are generally due to want of
proper care of the skin, to improper clothing or feeding, or to
indiscriminate association with nurses and Children, who are the
carriers of contagious diseases.
5. PERMANENT INJURY.--Permanent injury is often caused by lifting the
child by one hand, allowing it to fall, permitting it to play with
sharp instruments, etc.
6. RULES AND PRINCIPLES.--Every mother should understand the rules and
principles of home nursing. Children are very tender plants and the
want of proper knowledge is often very disastrous if not fatal. Study
carefully and follow the principles and rules which are laid down in
the different parts of this work on nursing and cooking for the sick.