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Show Why It Is Cruel to Tickle Babies By ANNA DWYER, M. D. WE DO no more cruel thing than tickle young children. Tbat we do it thoughtlessly and in ignorance of the harm we are working does not excuse the act. Every father and mother should be too well informed upon physiology to allow such a practice to be carried on. Many, many cases, indeed, of hysteria among adults can be traced to some instance in-stance of excessive tickling in youth, if a baby's relatives love it not wisely hut too well they are in their affection likely to fondle it excessively and, loving to see it laugh heartily, tickle it steadily in the belief be-lief that such an act provokes good humor. Where tickling is carried on more or less constantly, where fond relatives never pick up the infant without playfully jabbing it under the ribs or chucking it under the chin, future cases of "nerves" are founded. They are laying the foundation for future irritability and lack of good humor. Tickling excites the nerves; it sets the nerve centers quivering and it overworks them. Thus it works more harm to babies than to adults, because the infant's nerves are more impressionable. Nerves Overstimulated. This is because the world is new to the child. It has everything to learn ; little things mean more on account of their being the tirst experience in that line. Now, when a baby is tickled until it screams and laughs In excitement its plastic plas-tic nerves are being overstimulated. Its impulses are worked overtime. The nerve itself is lengthened unduly by the experience. experi-ence. When after a time the sensation goes down the nerve does not return to its former and its natural length. It will always al-ways be malformed and in the adult years of this baby's life it will be found to be lacking1 in the strength which gives an individual in-dividual poise and complete self-control. Tickling excites a baby too much for good sleeping and for good digestion. It is |