| OCR Text |
Show WHEN THE SAND MAN COMES . How One Mother Does Away With the Fretfulness That Sometimes Precedes Bedtime. About half an hour before nap-time, Junior is washed and given a cup ot milk. Then I set him in his high-chair high-chair and give him something that he can play with quietly for some time. If he still seems hungry, I give him a piece of zweiback or a crust of toast, that will keep him busy for a long season. Then, he has a music box and some cards and a disreputable clothespin doll, that we call his "Quiet-time "Quiet-time Playthings," and do not let him see at any other time. If he is very restless and . I have the time, we go into the sitting-room, darken it, and I play softly and sing the dear old melodies, mel-odies, that make my voice tremulous with memories of my childhood. Sometimes we put a rug in daddy's big chair, and Junior rocks slowly and croons a "sleepy song" with me. When nap-time comes, I take off his shoes and prepare him for bed in the usual way, lay him down in the quiet room, shut the door, and if he is not already asleep, he calls happily after me, "Byeby." Do you see the principle of the thing? But of course you do. From the time he wakes in the morning until un-til nap-time, the child grows more and more tired if left to himself; and when it finally comes time for his nap, he is too excited and weary to want it. The old way of rocking the baby to sleep, objectionable as it was in many respects, re-spects, had this very important virtue, that it soothed and prepared the tired little brain and nerves for the coming nap. Home Progress Magazine |
