Soft coverings will keep the infant warm. The limbs
should be free so that exercise can be had through unrestricted
movements.
The baby should not be bothered unnecessarily. Young parents make the
mistake of using the baby for show purposes. For the sake of politeness,
others praise the "only baby in the world" unduly, though there are
millions of others just as good. Let the child alone, thus giving it an
opportunity to become as superior as the parents think it is. The
showing off process creates excitement and lays the foundation for
fretfulness, irritability and nervousness. The child thrives in a
peaceful atmosphere. When it is awake it is well to talk to it quietly
and soothingly, for thus the infant begins to learn its mother's tongue.
Good language should be employed. Those who teach their children
baby-talk are handicapping them, for they will soon have to unlearn this
and learn real language. Baby-talk may be "cute" at eighteen months, but
when children retain that mode of expression beyond the age of four or
five it sounds silly.
At about the age of nine or ten months the breast-fed babe should be
weaned. Gradual weaning is perhaps the best.
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