Parent and Child Vol. III. | Page 9

very troublesome skin disease may result if a harsh soap
is allowed to dry on the skin.
Use a soft wash cloth made from a piece of old table linen, towel,
knitted underwear, or any other very soft material, and have two pieces,
one for the face and head and one for the body. The towel should be
soft and clean also. Even in summer the baby should be protected from
a direct draft when being bathed lest he be too suddenly chilled.
A young baby should be carefully held while in the tub. The mother
puts her left hand under the baby's arm and supports the neck and head
with her forearm. But an older baby can sit alone and in summer may
be allowed to splash about in the cool water for a few minutes.
When the bath is finished the baby should be patted dry, and the mother
should take great care to see that the folds and creases of the skin are
dry. Use a little pure talcum powder or dry sifted corn starch under the
arms and in the groin to prevent chafing. If any redness, chafing, or
eruption like prickly heat, develops on the skin, no soap at all should be
used in the bath. Sometimes a starch, or bran, or soda bath will relieve
such conditions.
Bran Bath. Make a little bag of cheesecloth and put a cupful of
ordinary bran in it and sew or tie the top. Let this bag soak in the bath,
squeezing it until the water is milky.
Starch Bath. Use a cupful of ordinary cooked starch to a gallon of
water. (If the laundry starch has had anything added to it, such as salt,
lard, oil, bluing, it must not be used for this purpose.)
Soda Bath. Dissolve a tablespoonful of ordinary baking soda in a little
water and add it to four quarts of water.
Clothing. Do not be afraid to take off the baby's clothes in summer. All
he needs in hot weather are the diaper and one other garment. For a
young baby this may be a sleeveless band which leaves the arms and
chest bare, and for an older baby only a loose, thin cotton slip or apron,
or wrapper, made in one piece with short kimono sleeves. Toward
nightfall when the day cools, or if the temperature drops when a storm
arises, the baby should, of course, be dressed in such a way as to

protect him from chill.
Cotton garments are best for the baby in summer. All-wool bands,
shirts and stockings should not be worn at any time of the year, and in
hot summer weather only the thinnest, all-cotton clothing should touch
the baby's skin, unless he is sick, when a very light part-wool band may
be needed. In general, neither wool nor starch should be allowed in the
baby's clothing in summer. Wool is too hot and irritating and starched
garments scratch the baby's flesh.
The baby should be kept day and night in the coolest place that can be
found. The kitchen is usually the hottest room in the house, especially
if coal or wood is burned for fuel. While the mother is busy with her
work the baby should be kept in another room, or better, out of doors, if
he can be protected from flies and mosquitoes.
A play pen, such as is described in "Infant Care," a booklet published
by the Children's Bureau and sent free on request, makes it possible to
leave the baby safely by himself on the porch or in the yard, after he is
old enough to creep.
A screened porch on the shady side of the house is a boon to every
mother, affording a cool, secure place for the baby to play and also to
sleep. Let him have his daytime naps on the porch and sleep there at
night during the heat.
Do not be afraid of fresh air for the baby. He cannot have too much of
it. Night air is sometimes even better than day air, because it has been
cooled and cleansed of dust by the dew.
The essentials in the summer care of babies are:
1. Proper food, given only at regular intervals.
2. A clean body.
3. Fresh air, day and night.

4. Very little clothing.
5. Cool places to play and sleep in.
Do not give the baby medicine of any sort unless it is ordered by the
doctor. Never give him patent remedies which are said to relieve the
pain of teething, or to make him sleep, or to cure diarrhea, for such
medicines are likely to do the baby much more harm than good,
especially in summer when the digestion is so easily disturbed. It is so
much easier to keep