Chapter XIV: Sleep

General remarks. A prevalent mistake. A hint to fathers. Few Catos. Everything left to mothers.

SEC. 1. _Hour for Repose._

Night the season of repose, generally. Infants require all hours. Sleeping in dark rooms. Excess of caution. Habit of sleeping amid noise.

SEC. 2. _Place._

Where the infant should sleep. Why alone. Poisoning by impure air. Illustration. Proofs. Friedlander. Dr. Dewees. Destruction of children by mothers. Anecdote. Moral reasons for having children sleep alone. Sleeping with the aged. Sleeping with cats and dogs.

SEC. 3 _Purity of the Air._

Nurseries. Windows open during the night. Lowering them from the top. Habit of Dr. Gregory. Going abroad in the open air.

SEC. 4. _The Bed._

No feathers should be used. They are too warm. Their effluvia oppressive. Other objections to their use. Mattresses. Air beds. Beds of cut straw. Soft beds. Testimony of physicians. The pillow. Dampness. Curtains. Warming the bed. Beds recently occupied by the sick.

SEC. 5. _The Covering._

Light covering. Mistakes of some mothers. Covering the head with bed clothes.

SEC. 6. _Night Dresses._

As little dress during sleep as possible. No caps. No stockings. Loose night shirt. No tight articles of nightdress. Frequent exchanging of clothes.

SEC. 7. _Posture of the Body._

Sleeping on the back--on the sides. Position of the head. The infant's bedstead. Sir Charles Bell. Darkening the room.

SEC. 8. _State of the Mind._

Mental quiet favorable to sleep. Crying to sleep. A good father. All anxiety should be avoided.

SEC. 9. _Quality of Sleep._

Soundness of our sleep. Nightmare. How produced. Late reading. Late suppers. Influence of religion on sleep. Different opinions about sleep. Truth midway between extremes. Effect of silence and darkness on our sleep. Of sleep before midnight. Light unfavorable to sleep.

SEC. 10. _Quantity._

Infants need to sleep nearly the whole time. Number of hours required for sleep. Opinions of eminent men. The author's own opinion. Statements of Macnish. Estimates on the loss of time by over-sleeping. Hint to young mothers.

CHAPTER XV. EARLY RISING.

All children naturally early risers. Evils of sitting up late at night. Excitements in the evening. The morning, by its beauties, invites us abroad. Example of parents. Forbidding children to rise early. Keeping them out of the way. Burning them up. "Lecturing" them. What is an early hour?

CHAPTER XVI. HARDENING THE CONSTITUTION.

Mistakes about hardening children. Their clothing. Much cold enfeebles. The Scotch Highlanders. The two extremes equally fatal--over-tenderness and neglect. An interesting anecdote from Dr. Dewees.

CHAPTER XVII. SOCIETY.

Duty of mothers in this matter. Children prefer the society of parents. Importance of other society. Necessity of society. Early diffidence. Selecting companions. Moral effects of society on the young. Parents should play with their children.

CHAPTER XVIII. EMPLOYMENTS.

Influence of mothers over daughters. Anecdote of Benjamin West. Anecdote of a poor mother. Of set lessons and lectures. Daughters under the mother's eye. Disliking domestic employments. Miserable housewives--not to be wondered at. Mistake of one class of men. Mr. Flint's opinion.

CHAPTER XIX. EDUCATION OF THE SENSES.

Extent to which the senses can be improved. Case of the blind. The Indians. Julia Brace. Tailors, painters, &c.

SEC. 1. _Hearing._

Injury done by caps. Syringing the ears. Anecdote of deafness from neglect. Means of improving the hearing.

SEC. 2. _Seeing._

Importance of seeing. Near-sighted people--why so common. Heat of our rooms. Very fine print. Spectacles. Reading when tired. Rubbing the eyes. Cold water to the eyes.

SEC. 3. _Tasting and Smelling._

Benumbing the senses. How this has often been done. The teeth. How to preserve them.

SEC. 4. _Feeling._

Corpulence and slovenliness. Sense of touch. The blind--how taught to read. Hint to parents. The hand. Neglecting the left hand. Physiology of the hand and arm. Evils of being able to use but one hand. Both should be educated.

CHAPTER XX. ABUSES.

Bad seats for children at table and elsewhere. Why children hate Sunday. Seats at Sabbath school--at church--at district schools. Suspending children between the heavens and the earth. Cushions to sit on. Seats with backs. Children in factories. Evils produced. Bodily punishment. Striking the heads of children very injurious. Beating across the middle of the body. Anecdote of a teacher. Concluding advice to mothers.

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