Page:Food and cookery for the sick and convalescent.djvu/43

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T would seem that every child's birthright should be a healthy mind in a healthy body, but man is not yet wise enough and science has not opened its doors sufficiently wide to render perfect living possible. Still searching for new truth, each year adds its part towards the complete solution, and "It is a proper or improper nutriment which makes or mars the perfection of the coming generation."

The power of the baby to grow mentally and physically must depend chiefly on its feeding,—although air and sunlight supply, environment, rest, sleep, exercise, bathing, and clothing all play a part not to be overlooked.

A young baby is a young animal, and must eat, sleep, and use some muscular effort in kicking and crying (at least one-half hour each day), to expand the chest and gain strength. A baby should be handled but little, and kept as quiet as possible. Much sleep is necessary, for during sleep the child develops and grows. For the first month a child requires sleep from twenty to twenty-two hours daily; three months, eighteen to twenty hours; six months, sixteen to eighteen hours; one year, fourteen to fifteen hours. A child gets the best sleep in a darkened, well-ventilated, quiet room; for during sleeping hours there is a subconscious activity, and if there is light and noise present the nervous, muscular, and tissue growth are hindered. Avoid the use of too much or too heavy clothing or covering, as either is a hindrance to the best growth and development.

The average weight of a child at birth is seven and one-seventh pounds for a male, while a female weighs about