If the child squirms and frets, it may be
uncomfortable from being overfed or it may be thirsty. Offer it water
but not food.
Let the child alone. Do not bounce it or carry it about. During the
first few months the baby needs heat, nourishment and rest, and should
have no excitement. It should not be treated as a plaything. After a few
months it begins to take notice of things and then you can have much fun
with it.
The right kind of love consists in doing what is necessary for the
infant and no more.
Obedience to the reasonable requests of the parents is of the greatest
importance in the successful raising of children. Parents should realize
this even before the children are born. From the first, be firm, though
gentle, with the little ones. Children should be so trained that when
they are requested to do a thing, they do it immediately without any
repetition. This will save both them and the parents many an unhappy
hour.
The lives of many parents and many children are made miserable from lack
of a little parental firmness at the start.
There are many little graces that are not vital, yet they are important,
and these should be taught children early, for then they become second
nature.
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