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Show INFANT CARE Government's Baby Book Is Best Seller; 28,000,000 Distributed WNXJ Washington Bureau Millions of people all over the world have paid approximately $5,600,000 for the government's baby book and best seller, "Infant Care," which has now reached a distribution distribu-tion of 28,000,000 copies. Varying philosophies on the care I of children from the time they are born till they celebrate their first birthday can be traced throughout ji the nine editions of this booklet, the jj first of which appeared in 1914. ' In that year, for instance, babies ! didn't get a chance at even a table spoon of strained fruit juice until j they were 7 or 8 months old, but ! the 1951 baby is usually getting 2 ounces a day by the time he is two months old. The 1914 baby could not have solid foods at all during his first year, other than soft egg, crisp toast, or zwieback. The 1951 edition edi-tion of Infant Care, however, says: "Your doctor will decide when your baby needs solid foods in addition addi-tion to milk. Some start giving these extra foods when a baby is only a few weeks old, others wait until babies are 3 or 4 months old." Thumb sucking was sharply criticized criti-cized in early editions of Infant Care. The first edition even recommended recom-mended pinning the sleeve of the baby's jacket down over the fingers of the offending hand for several days and nights to stop thumb sucking. suck-ing. This attitude has been greatly modified over the years, and the accepted idea now is that thumb sucking is one of the first pleasures pleas-ures that a baby gets. Many mothers moth-ers now say that it seems to result in a very satisfied child. Cod liver oil was added to the baby's diet in the 1926 edition, and was identified as containing Vitamin Vita-min D in the 1929. Frozen foods are approved in the present edition. Infant Care is sometimes called the "mother's bible". It has been translated into 8 languages. The government printing office sells the bulletin at 20 cents per copy, and has become accustomed to many requests for simply "the book". INFANT CARE has undergone major changes since it was first published. During its lifetime, advances ad-vances in medicine, science, and in what we know about the emotional development of children have altered alter-ed much of the philosophy which the book carries. In compiling information for the current edition, bureau specialists talked to doctors, nurses, . social workers, psychiatrists, nutritionists, and parent educators on what the book should cover. They asked parents, par-ents, living in both the city and the country, what they particularly wanted the book to discuss. The first draft of the revised booklet was submitted for review to about 70 persons outside the bureau, including 37 doctors, 6 psychologists, psycholo-gists, 7 nurses, 3 nutritionists, 1 anthropologist, 6 social workers, 8 parents, and 2 parent-education workers. Fan mail throughout the years of Infant Care's publication has been tremendous. From places as distant as Nigeria have come requests for it, and copies have even turned up in small Chinese villages. The present edition of Infant Care, like those before it, is an attempt at-tempt to bring together the most widely accepted modern ideas on the care of children. One unchanging unchang-ing philosophy throughout all its editions has been that babies need a maximum of tender, loving care to grow into healthy, happy, children. |