Instincts of Children.

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 76

Instincts of Children.

The lusty fit of crying 'ncident to t!:e baby's bath, although it may piove annoying to the mother, is one of the best possible* tonics for the infant. The vigorous respirations and increased activity of the muscular tissues conduce even more than the friction of the bath towel to a healthful glow of the skin. The : nfant that is obstreperous enough to resent with loud orying its nurse's efforts to soothe it, until it is &gain in, its flaanels, is iiot likely to take cold from its bath. Again, in the natfcer of eafcrng, the child! sometimes exhibits singular tendencies. From tbe time a child begins to come to the table until the period of youth he often, shows strong Jikas and dislike?. Just how much such tendencies may ho combated is, perhaps, of little moment, but in the quantity of ' food desired, each child should be a law unto himself. To bribe or coax a child to eat more ihan he wants is certainly not commendable. Many who ?a children are extremely "delicate" in their eating develop in later life digestive organs of superior ability. Overfeeding is ne?er so fratij;ht with danger as in childhood, and in these numerous oa,ses in which the child instinct opposes t the eating of as much food as is ordinarily regarded as normal, it should be respected. In tbo event of a small appetite being the evidence of 'impaired vitality cr disease, other concurrent symptoms will be so evident as to lead io consultation of a physician. Glowing cheeks and sturdy limbs are admirable and a .lelight to fond parents, hnt to many children they are ' simply not natural, and no amount of food can pro* duce them. In many children nature exhibits a oouaervativo tendency, and the scrawny limbs and sallow cheeks may h& ?n indication o£ conserved energy, by virtue of whjgh some organ or organs may not be overtaxed during ihe growing age. The diseases of childhood often result in. temporarily \dantaged organs, which time and a following of the instincts of preservation which Nature meanwhile imposes may entirely overcome. Thus it is that many children, regarded throughout childhood as delicate and not likely to survive till adult life, not only reach manhood and womanhood, but attain qualities of extraordinary physical or mental vigour. It is well <o realise that very rarely are ther^ two children, even in the same family, similar in their physical equipments^ and that therefore no "rule of thumb method of rearing them is ever eminently successful.