Discouraging Harmful Habits in Children
MUCH mischief comes from the habit children have of putting things into their mouths while out-of-doors. Dangerous diseases are introduced into the system through the mouth, and such pernicious habits as biting the gloves, gnawing the carriage strap, as some babies do, and, worst of all, holding money or car tickets between the teeth, as is a common trick with little ones, ought to be persistently discouraged. Too often this habit is fostered in infancy by a thoughtless nurse, who lets baby suck balls, spools, and all small objects indiscriminately. Teeth must be helped through the gums, they say, and friction helps. Yes, but let us choose our appliances. Give baby a clean rubber or ivory ring and let him learn to discriminate between that and harmful objects. Then when he goes, at six, to walk in the park, he will not chew acorns, suck his gloves, nor bite rotten sticks to allay his craving.—Childhood.