Part 7

Physicians are of Opinion, that Animal-food is not in Perfection ’till full grown; for, like unripe Fruit, their Juices are crude, and always more or less improper to mix with our Blood, ’till they are in a State of Maturity: hence it appears, that Beef and Mutton are more wholesome than Veal and Lamb. Nor should Beef, as the Fibres of it are very strong, be eat too freely by those whose Digestion is weak; and when rendered harder by lying long in Brine, it is still more improper. Pork, tho’ a favourite kind of Food, is in several Respects improper to be eat frequently; it is extremely apt to offend the Stomach; it has a remarkable Tendency to bring on Purgings; and it is suspected not to form so pure a Chyle, and to be more disposed to load the Blood with those Particles which create scorbutic Disorders than any other Meat. Upon the whole, no Meat is so universally suited to our Nature as Mutton. For after all our Labour and Expence to obtain greater Rarities, after we have fatigued ourselves with Sport, hunted down defenceless Creatures, brought to the Ground the most wary Birds, and cloyed ourselves with the choicest Viands, we find perhaps a truer Relish, and a better Appetite for a Mutton-chop. So Topers, after spending the Night in search of the richest Wine, after rioting in Excess, and wearying the Tavern-waiters to please their Palates, seek Comfort and Refreshment in a Glass of Water.

Fish is a sort of Diet extremely improper for Children. I would recommend to Parents never to let a Child so much as taste it for the first seven Years at least. If it were nothing more than the Danger of Bones sticking in it’s Throat, it is enough to alarm prudent People; but most kinds of Fish are naturally flabby, cold, and watry; are very unfit for young Stomachs, and usually made more so, by being accompanied with rich Sauce.

Children should not be debarred Fruit; but the Use of it requires some Attention; 1st, It should always be good in its Kind, and ripe. 2dly, Regard is to be had what Sort agrees, and what disagrees. 3dly, Some Limitation as to Quantity. It is a disputed Point whether we may eat Fruit in a Morning; other Nations do frequently, we seldom. In _France_, _Germany_, _Switzerland_, and many other Places, the People always eat Bread with their Fruit; and it appears so rational that I believe it were better that we did too. Fruit gives some a Pain at the Stomach, others not; Apples, Currants, and those Kinds, which, tho’ ripe, have still a Degree of grateful Acidity in them, usually agree best. Pears and Plumbs, especially the _Orleans_ Plumb, have a Tendency to bring on Purgings, which sometimes terminate in a Bloody Flux and Death; and therefore should be given to Children with great Caution: but, in fine, Experience here, as in many other things, is to be our Guide. One general Rule I would recommend, which is, that the Skin or Rind of all Fruit that is in any manner tough, be not eat. It is the Pulp and juicy Part of the Fruit which refreshes us; and Nature, to preserve these, has wrapped them up in a tough kind of Coat, which is judged by many to be very unfit to take into the Stomach. I must not omit to speak of Nuts. I observed before, that merely from the Danger of Bones Children should be kept from Fish; so, had Nuts no other Effect than loosening the Teeth by frequent cracking them, which they do manifestly, they should never be meddled with; but in Fact they have. I have seen People eat Walnuts ’till they could scarcely breathe; the famous _Barcelona_ Nuts, besides the Substance or fibrous Part of them, often abound with a rank kind of Oil; and even our own Hazel Nuts and Filberds, when eaten in any Quantity, are apt to create Thirst, cord up, as it were, the whole Chest, and produce Coughs.

Self-gratification on one hand, and Self-interest on the other, have introduced several Trades the World in general might dispense with; two of which demand my Observation, viz. the Confectioner and the Pastry-cook. That these Trades have their Use I do not deny. A Nobleman, according to the Rules of Politeness, cannot make an Entertainment without a Desert; thus the Confectioner becomes necessary: in inferior Life, the Coarseness of the Entertainment is taken off by the Assistance of the Pastry-cook: all which may be reasonable, if reasonably used. But when I consider the general Misapplication of these luscious Dainties to Children, I cannot but condemn it.

If a Child is sent to visit a Relation or Friend, the grand Compliment is, to apply to the Confectioner or the Pastry-cook; and ’till the little Visitor be crammed with Biskets, or Cakes, or Tarts, or Sweetmeats, or all in their Turn, and that even to a Surfeit, the welcome is not thought compleat. Still there is some Excuse to palliate this Mistake; the Child is considered as a Visitor; and these Excesses are the mistaken Effects of Good-Nature and Respect; both which are apt grievously to err against Judgment. But my Principals here are the Parents; for from them alone must come the Habit of doing right, and by them alone must the Error be prevented or corrected.

I have no Objection to a Child’s having a Tart or Bisket by Chance, but I am a profess’d Enemy to the daily Abuses committed with them. If we view the Loads of Wigs, Tarts, and Cakes, every Day made at the Pastry-cooks, we must be astonished at their Consumption. The Truth is, People give these Things to their Children ’till they have made them sick, and then give them because they are sick. If a Person happens to call on a Friend where there is a Child indisposed, it is ten to one but they find a Tart in it’s Hands; Ah! poor thing, says Mamma, it has eat nothing to-day, so I sent for a Tart for it. That the Hands, the Face, the Apparel and Bedding of Children, imprudently indulg’d with this kind of Food, be constantly daub’d and besmear’d, is the least bad Consequence attending such Indiscretion; it has several other Effects, particularly on their Health; by vitiating their Appetites, engendering Crudities, and alienating them from more wholesome Diet.

But let us go lower into Common Life; and view the various Outlets from _London_. What Swarms, what Multitudes of Children are there not in the Fields on every fine Sunday! And what is their Entertainment? Why, generally speaking, they are stuffed with a coarse kind of Pastry-ware made coarse on purpose for Children, who of all the human Species ought not to touch it: then to compleat the Mischief, they are to wash it down with a foul, nauseous, heady kind of Ale, or other Malt Liquor. Yet when one opposes this Practice, as every one must with Hand and Heart, who has but a Head to guide them; Poor Things! cry the mistaken Parents, what! take Children into the Fields, and not give them a Bun! But how grievously does their dotard Fondness mislead them! Good Bread, with a very little Sweet Butter, wash’d down with Water, or clear well-brew’d Small Beer, would preserve their Health; while the only use of this Trash, is to impair or destroy it.

To reduce to Method what has been here said concerning Diet, I must observe, that next to the proper kind of Food, nothing is more conducive to Health than a Habit of eating Meals regularly. Children accustomed to eat all Day long are seldom healthy; besides, that it makes them disorderly, and often throws a Family into Confusion to gratify all their little Humours. The proper Breakfast has been already pointed out; their Dinner should be made of one Dish, only, unless by great Chance a passing Taste of a second; they should either eat a great deal of Bread, or blend their Meat with Greens, Turnips, or other Garden Stuff; Pickles and all high Sauces should not be touch’d by them; and their Meal should be washed down with Water or light Small Beer. Their Supper may, like their Breakfast, sometimes be vary’d, as to the Auxiliary; Bread is to be the Repast; yet a small Portion of Butter, Cheese, Fruit, or Tart, may in their Turn accompany it: the Vehicle the same as at Dinner. But should a Child at intermediate Times, especially before Dinner, complain of Hunger, and fasting long might make it’s Stomach ach; in that Case nothing so good as a bit of Bread; and if used to it, it will eat it as eagerly as the greatest Dainty; but to see Children walk about a House with Tarts or Bread and Butter in their Hands, daubing every thing and every body they touch, is certainly wrong; being not only detrimental to their Health, but to their Manners too, as it is inexpressibly vulgar.

The Ideas of Parents may perhaps confine these Rules to the first Septenary of a Child’s Life; but I must here observe, that no essential Difference, no very material Changes can be made from this, even in the second and third Stages, without some Degree of Error. Eating and Drinking are made too much the Business and the Pleasure of Life, to be consistent with either our Health or our Reason: Parents therefore who aim at acting on right Principles, must for the sake of these, teach their Children to be regular and temperate in the use of those. It is right that they begin early, that they set out well; but it is doubly so, that they keep them in the same Road; and as their Childrens Reason gathers Strength, convince them that they must never quit it, if they wish to live a long or happy Life: and that, of all human Gratifications, an inordinate Attachment to Eating and Drinking is the meanest, and most unworthy a Man.

Mr. _Locke_ proposes, as a great Means of preserving Health, that Boys (for it is for them only that he writes) have Holes made in their Shoes on purpose to let in the Wet; which (says he) being rendered familiar to them, will prevent their catching Cold. It is certain this Gentleman acts here upon a right Principle; but whether the Practice be altogether eligible, is a Doubt. Nothing is so hurtful to the Head, the Eyes, and the Breast, as catching Cold in the Feet; and therefore I cannot but concur with this ingenious Writer, in recommending the Use of cold Water in order to make Children hardy. I have before advised, that young Children have their Limbs washed daily with cold Water; now as many things may be rendered familiar and easy by Custom, if, as they advance, their Feet were daily immersed in cold Water too, it would undoubtedly be of vast Service, and greatly tend to confirm their Health. But if this be never practised, or the Practice set aside, which is nearly the same thing, it demands double Care of the Parents to prevent their being liable to Colds.

To this End, Children’s Feet should be washed in Water a little warm’d; for it is extremely dangerous to make a sudden Derivation of the Blood up to the Lungs or Head, which is the natural Effect of cold Water. And it is for this Reason that People are never suffered to walk into a cold Bath, but are thrown forwards, that the Immersion may be total at the same instant. Nay, Mr. _Locke_ himself was so sensible of this, that tho’ he advises washing the Feet daily in cold Water, he would have it begun with in the Spring, and the Water luke-warm, and made colder and colder by Degrees: “For (says he) it is to be observ’d in this, as in all other Alterations from our ordinary Way of living, the Changes must be made by gentle and insensible Degrees.”

The next Mean is, that Children have always dry Shoes. There is a great deal of Mischief attends the mistaken Delicacy of Shoes. Those who always tread on Carpets, who never go abroad without a Coach or a Chair, may perhaps wear with Safety the thinnest that can be made; but to see People in inferior Life, or those engaged in real Business, trampling thro’ dirty Streets, and soaking their Paper-soals in continual Puddles, is surely every way absurd: but as this Practice is evidently detrimental to Health, as it frequently occasions Coughs, sore Eyes, Head-ach, Rheumatism, and other Disorders, it is highly incumbent on Parents to keep Children free from these Dangers by using them, in Winter especially, to such Shoes as will keep them dry. On this Head it will not be amiss to give a Caution against Shoes that pinch. Parents must be attentive to this both in Boys and Girls, for many by this Means are made so tender-footed, and have such painful Corns, that they are a kind of Cripples their whole Lives: and are not only very uncomfortable to themselves, but are often thereby greatly disabled from doing their necessary Business.

I must not here omit, so far as relates to Health, to mention Sleeping, and the Circumstances attending it. “Of all (says Mr. _Locke_) which looks soft and effeminate, nothing is more to be indulged Children than Sleep. In this alone they are to be permitted to have their full Satisfaction, nothing contributing more to the Growth and Health of Children than Sleep.” I have already with regard to Infants shewn, that they ought not to be disturbed from their Rest; and even past that Age Sleep affords them great Nourishment. Nothing certainly is more injudicious and unnatural than the Custom many Parents have of keeping their Children up late. If they wish them to be healthy, temperate, or wise, they must create in them a Habit of early going to Bed and early rising. As the many Conditions in Life oblige, or at least lead People to act differently, so it is extremely hard to fix precise Rules herein; but in general, ’till Children approach nearly to Men and Women, they would do best not to sit up to see, much less to eat, a Family-supper at nine o’Clock.

Lying on soft Beds is undoubtedly wrong; the _French_ have a good Custom of putting a Matrass above the Feather-bed, which prevents their sinking into a Softness very prejudicial to Health. Soft Beds absorb too much of our Juices, cause a greater Waste than we can spare, enfeeble our whole Frame, and have a remarkable Tendency to give a Pain of Weakness in the Small of the Back, by heating the Reins.

Mr. _Locke_, amidst great good Sense, has some Notions a little rigorous, which probably are never followed, nor do they seem altogether needful. He proposes that a Child’s Bed be designedly ill made; that is, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes rough, sometimes smooth; for my part, I am desirous to banish every ill-judged Tenderness, every false Fondness; but as I write for the Use of both Sexes, and all Conditions, I cannot confine my Ideas to a Tent or a Cabin. Let Children by all Means lie on Matrasses instead of Beds, for the Reasons already given; let them lie with a Bolster only, and no Pillow, for it is not good for them to have the Head high; let them lie either on one Side or the other, and not on the Back; and let them lie pretty straight in the Bed, yet not fully stretched out, for that would impede the due Action of the animal Functions, and render Sleep less profitable to them. With regard to the Form of their Beds, I think, Decency requires that they be orderly and regular; nor is there any Fear that a Change of Bed will affect them, for most young People sleep sound wherever they are laid.

It has been generally said, that we should keep our Heads cool; and many on that Principle, even tho’ their Heads are shaved, lie without a Night-cap. I will not take upon me to determine the Matter, but observe, that the Night-air seems to require some Guard; and many are of Opinion, that lying with the Head warm is most healthful; and particularly good for the Hair, the Eyes, and the Teeth.

Another Observation I shall here make, is, the Error of sleeping in small Rooms, and by Choice in the lower Part of a House; it is certainly right that we should have Space for a due Circulation of Air that it may not become thick and foul, which is very common in close Bed-chambers; nor should we lie surrounded with Curtains, for that is confining ourselves to the Air within the small Compass of our Beds. Parents would do well to let Children lie with the Curtains undrawn; and even where they have tender Constitutions, drawn only at the Sides of the Bed; but never all round, unless really sick: for this Practice, however common, is highly erroneous.

Notwithstanding the general Rules laid down concerning Exercise, I must here observe, that as Children advance in Life, that is, when they approach to Men and Women, great Regard should be had to the Exercise suitable to their Circumstances and Constitution; but these are too many to admit of enlarging upon here. I will in brief observe, that those who are hale receive the greatest Advantage from walking; the tender, especially the Hectical, and those who have weak Nerves, cannot bear this Exercise to any Degree, but gain Strength and Vigor from riding on Horseback; and indeed it often happens, where walking cannot be borne without great Fatigue, and waste of Strength and Spirits, riding, on the contrary, not only gives Pleasure, but increases both. Where Infirmity is so great, which doubtless will sometimes happen, that neither of these Exercises can be pursued, then a Coach, or some ether Vehicle, should supply their Place; for it is of great Consequence not totally to disuse Exercise: but Parents must remember this is too indolent in a State of Health; and is not by any Means to be encouraged by Choice. Besides these, there are many others under the Name of Sports and Pastimes, which if well regulated, and Care be taken that those engaged in them do not injudiciously drink cold Liquors, or otherwise expose themselves to inclement Seasons, are very salutary; such as Fencing, Dancing, Bowling, Digging, Gardening, and many others; all in their Nature good, and at times not to be shunned, especially by those whose Life would otherwise be inactive, those particularly who are devoted to Study.

There are yet some farther things relative to Health, which Parents must not disregard. Constitutions are so variously formed, that the same Employment which suits one Child, will not another. If one is closely confined to Study it will impair his Health, and either shorten his Days, or make him miserable: if another is engaged in a laborious Business, his tender Frame, perhaps, sinks under it: if a third is indulged in an easy Occupation, where Action would have suited his Frame, he becomes indolent, insipid, and infirm, a Burden to himself and others. Lastly, there are Occupations in Life whose Fumes are known to affect us; and some Regard should be had even to these, since the Health of our Children is concerned: not that I here recommend the Observance of each Nicety, or would have Children afraid of every Vapour that rises around them, or of every Employment that is accompanied with Labour: no; that would be making Life too painful, and fix in our Children an unmanly Timorousness, which would make them puny, frivolous or hurtful; and would be swerving from the Opinion of the greatest Men that have studied and wrote on these Subjects: For _Hippocrates_, _Celsus_, and all those who were best acquainted with what Physicians call the Non-naturals, maintain, that, besides Temperance and Air, Exercise, and that too of the most laborious Kind, particularly Husbandry, is indispensably necessary for Health. What then in general I here advise, is, that Parents, in settling their Children, have an Eye to their Health, at the same time that they study their Interest and Prosperity.

Having thus with real Pains, and an unfeigned Desire to promote the Welfare of Mankind, pointed out the general Means of preserving Health, and, I hope, set in a true Light those Errors which usually tend to impair or destroy it; if Parents seriously adhere to the one, and avoid the other, their Children will receive many and great Advantages therefrom. It may be urged, that the Treatment which suits one Child will not another; and that general Rules are always subject to particular Exceptions: I grant it. Still this does not justify those Parents who submit to no Rules at all. I have said before, that all Laws give Parents the sole Power of governing their Children; I may also maintain that the same Laws oblige them to do every thing to promote their Welfare. Those who are unacquainted with the Duty of a Parent, must learn; those who know, must practice. Let this Admonition then rouse the Attention of Parents; and let these Precepts serve as the Foundation, whereon to build the solid Health of their Children. The Constitution is like the Countenance, somewhat different in every one; where therefore any Deviations from Rule are the Effect of Judgment, I sincerely applaud them; and where any Principle here laid down proves erroneous, I chearfully submit to the Removal of it.

Many of my Readers will still perhaps expect, that something should be said concerning the manner of treating Children in Sickness; but they must remember, that I set out with no farther View than the preserving Health, by avoiding every Irregularity and Excess: and when Diseases happen, which cannot be obviated, nor even foreseen, it is not the reading a single Volume that will qualify Parents to undertake the Cure of them: no; they must apply to those who make it their Study and their Profession; to those whose Judgment, whose Integrity, and whose Diligence they can confide in. To this End I will here endeavour to point out to Parents the most rational Way of proceeding.

One would imagine, that nothing was easier to determine than this Matter; for what can be more natural in Sickness, than sending for a Physician? He who from his Youth has laboured to acquire Knowledge, who has devoted his Life to Study, who has searched into Nature, and discovered the most hidden Causes; who has sacrificed many even of the innocent Pleasures of Life, that he might become useful to Mankind; and who, to accomplish this, has spent perhaps a good younger Son’s Portion. Can any thing, I say, be more natural or more rational than this Proceeding? And yet, who is there that has any Knowledge of the World, that is acquainted with _London_ particularly, that does not daily see a very different Practice? Who is there that does not know, that the Apothecary, the Nurse, the Quack, and many others, oftentimes baffle the Physician, or keep him out of Play.

Every Nation is distinguished for some Peculiarities of it’s own. In _France_ the Physicians have but little Dignity, and their Fees are low; yet nobody in Sickness presumes to act without them; they are always call’d first: in _England_, the Reputation of Physicians is deservedly great; but their Fees are high, and they are usually call’d in last. As Sickness is in it’s Nature every Way expensive, as the Doctor’s Fee is always Gold, we cannot but be sensible, that there are many People in the Nation, who either from a Desire to contract the Expence, or from a Want of Ability to give the customary Fees, do not, at least ’till Danger threatens, send for a Physician. And it is for these, and other Reasons, that some Medium between the Patient and the Physician seems necessary: which Medium is no where to be found, but in the Apothecary.