The toys which accumulate in great quantities from year to year, and which, though no longer used as playthings, are still retained in loving memory of childhood through school days and even beyond pu berty, should not he permitted to stand about the play room, but should be locked in chests or closets, because of their tendency to collect dust. The homes of the children, and particularly the work room, must be well lighted and should possess: an excellent source of illumination. Electric lights in hanging lamps, with ground glass bulbs and green shades, are best for artificial illumination because they do not consume the air, they are least harmful to the eyes, and are least likely to cause fire. Where this is not to he obtained, the familiar oil or petroleum lamps are still to be preferred to the gas flame, as being less trying to the eyes; the oil or petroleum lamp, how=ever, soon heats and vitiates the air. According to my experience, the chidren's workroom is not complete without facilities for washing, so as to maintain cleanliness among them. I consider a swinging horizontal bar suspended from the ceiling of the room, a valuable addition to the home, for after the child has been seated a long while at work, the need for exercise is imperative.
In the sleeping room, too, the furnishings should be of the simplest kind and easily kept clean; with a bed, a washstand, a wardrobe, and a chest of drawers the installation is complete. The bed should be so arranged as to prevent the child being rendered too soft. A horsehair mattress to lie on and a linen sheet and a woolen blanket for covering, are better than a soft mattress and a feather-bed for cover. During the first three months of life and during the winter, a light down coverlet may be used. Iron beds are most easily cleaned and are not so readily infested by vermin. For durability and elegance, the so-called English beds occupy first place.
A baby carriage, or a basket suitably covered, to prevent the entrance of too strong a light, usually serves as the infant's bed. Ac cording to our idea, the cradle, that show-piece of the nursery, should be discarded, for the mother is apt to rock the child constantly in her en deavor to produce sleep, and thus make use of a sedative which may be harmful to the nervous system. The infant should have its own bed, in order to obtain plenty of clean fresh air, and also to obviate the danger of being "overlain." The proper care of the child's skin is absolutely essential to healthy development. Further on I will explain why I consider daily bathing of the infant a necessity from the day of birth. According to ancient and honored custom among us in Germany, the cleansing bath for the young "world-citizens" is administered daily only to the end of the first year. After that time, the physician is repeatedly asked whether
a bath once or twice a week will not suffice, and he is often told that more frequent bathing must weaken the child. This false point of view is difficult to combat. I consider it extremely necessary that no time limit be placed upon the matter of bathing; and when it is at all possi ble the mother should continue the daily bath until it has become a fixed habit in the child, in the hope that this excellent practice of caring for the skin may be continued throughout life. I should also like to see the evening sponge bath, which every mother gives her infant, con tinued through childhood. This procedure is best carried out with tepid water at C. (GS°-72° F.). I am not in favor of hardening the child by pouring cold water over it or by using the cold shower. Instead of this, quickly washing the entire body with a large sponge dipped in lukewarm water, or wrapping it in wet sheets for a short time, is useful for strengthening the skin and the muscular system. Further on I will take up in detail the care of the infant's body.
In addition to the hygiene of the skin by means of the bath, the care of the mouth and teeth are part of the child's toilet. It has been found from general experience that the cleansing of the baby's mouth by wiping produces superficial injuries of the mucous membrane which lead to local infections and may result in serious constitutional troubles. Even if the use of an aseptic nipple were not dangerous, I would still object to the general use of "comforters" for the purpose of quieting the baby. The chief method of preserving the teeth in later childhood is by a careful cleansing of the mouth, by regularly rinsing it every morning and after the principal meals. The teeth should be cleansed after each meal with a tooth-brush of medium stiffness. As mouth washes, to 1 per cent. thymol or menthol solutions (a few drops added to a glass of water) may be used: or The careful preservation of the milk teeth is something of a guar antee for healthy permanent teeth. The extraction of a milk tooth should be permitted only when the root has become inflamed and is the seat of a periostitis. All the care of the teeth is not comprised in local measures, however. It is necessary to exclude from the diet all arti cles, which, either directly or indirectly, may prove harmful; hence, sweets, and food or drink which is either too hot or too cold, should be forbidden.