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Show BABIES I How Nature t Cares for I Them. j BY MRS. McCUNE. j rni VEHY mother knows that her 8 r baby la wonderful. iLSflj What becomes of all these romarkablo babies? Time certainly cer-tainly Tvorks changes. jf Even In theso modern days we still 1 exaggerate the virtues of children and fall to appralso their shortcomings. Do you know whether your child Is normal? Is he gaining sufficiently In weight? Does ho sleep onough? Is ho too good? The wise parent Is Interested In learning of the progress of her children. chil-dren. She is not satisfied in merely ndmirlng them. Playing with children Is not the only duty of mothers. Talking baby talk does not atone for a lack of understanding. The normal baby gains from four to six ounces every week. Ho usually doubles his birth weight in six months and trebles it In one year. Don't try to fatton a child Just to add to Its weight. Fat does not indicate strength, and too much weight retards the development de-velopment of infants. The normal baby cries when be h hungrv, nnd goes to sleep when his appetite is sated If your baby does not cry to express Its wants or disapproval disap-proval or discomfort, he is not normal. Beware of the "baby that almost never nev-er cries that Is placid, contented unresisting. un-resisting. He is not a healthy littlo animal. Ho Is just vegetating Watch hlr, future development carefully. Physical activities depend on tho growth of the brain. Mind and body develop together and through each other. If your child Is not constantly active while awake, find out what will help to make him normal. Judge how j'our child's mind Is unfolding un-folding by noticing his growing power to control his muscles. Do you know when your child ought to perform these little "stunts" which delight a parent's heart? A child's good looks may be visible only to Its doting parents, but Its intelligence in-telligence Is apparent to everyone who knows babies. Your baby should play with Its fingers fin-gers at the age of three or four months. At about the same time tho smile that helps populate fairyland, begins to be a conspicuous performance. perform-ance. Some infants may hold their heads up In a wabbly manner shortly after birth. It Is customary for babies to gain full control of their neck muscles at the fourth or fifth month. Is your baby slow in holding It3 head erect and looking about with in- I terest? Sitting up, supported by a pillow, is usually accomplished during the sixth or eighth month. Creeping begins at the ninth or tenth month. Walking alone Is accomplished at the end of a year or a year and a half. The soft spot on baby's head generally gen-erally closes completely when he is one and a half year old. It may not be closed entirely until the second birthday. How is your child progressing according ac-cording to these normal measures of development? Make somo other comparisons to test youi infant's mental powers. You can determine whether your child is normal, precocious or mentally mental-ly dull. This Is worth knowing. The normal Infant knows its family and distinguishes strangers when ho approaches six months of age. Ho says "mamma" and "papa" at one year of age, and his list of words increase constantly. If a child does not talk by the time t it is two years or two and a half " years old it probably suffers from deafness or is a mental defective. Note the ages at which new actlvi- ' ties occur. If there it, only a slight variation from the standard, there is no cause for alarm. If your child's development is much delayed, investi- ' gate. Be sure your child is physically physical-ly and mentally normal. |
