Baby's Bath and Toilet : Part 3

The Mother and Her Child
by William S. Sadler, M.D., Lena K. Sadler, M.D.

(Page 22 of 43)

Baby's Daily Rub

This soap bath should be administered for cleanliness only, and should be given twice a week. If a tub bath is to be given on other days, after the routine head and face toilet, the baby is simply dipped into the water and the soft skin gently rubbed.

If the sponge or tub bath is given in the afternoon just before the long sleep at night, then the oil rub should take place before the mid-forenoon meal; and likewise, if the sponge or tub bath is given during the mid forenoon, then the oil rub or dry hand rub is given before the going-to-bed time. The rub should be a daily procedure for the first two years. Nothing rougher than the soft palm of the hand should be rubbed on baby's soft skin.

Use and Abuse of Talcum

Babies have come to my clinic with cakes of talcum under their arms, and particularly between their thighs and in the crease of the buttocks. Here the well-meaning but thoughtless mother had reasoned, "a little is good; more is better" which is not always the case.

Talcum is not used to replace careful drying, and it should never be found in quantities on the baby's skin any more than you would expect to find quantities of face powder caked in the creases of the neck or behind the ears of an adult. The skin is first cleaned, then patted entirely dry, and, as a finishing touch, a bit of talcum is put on by means of a puff.

Tonic and Medicated Baths

Tonic baths are usually given to older children when they are able to enter into the sport and frolic of a cool bath. Baths are called tonic because they call forth from the body a reaction - a sort of circulatory rebound. This rebound or reaction brings the blood to the skin, increases the circulation, and tones up the nerves. The room should be properly warmed and, if necessary, some form of exercise be continued after the bath to prevent the chill that sometimes follows a poorly administered bath.

In the case of the anemic child, after six months of age, the mother's hand dipped in cold water may briskly rub the chest and back until it glows or becomes red. The child should enjoy this bath. Never frighten a child by throwing cold water on it or by giving it a too sudden cold plunge; great harm may be permanently done by these efforts to "toughen the baby."

The simple medicated baths may be administered according to the following directions:

Salt. Use half a teacup of common salt or sea salt to each gallon of water. The salt should first be dissolved in a cup of warm water to prevent the sharp particles from pricking the skin. The doctor sometimes orders a salt bath.

Starch. Add a cup of ordinary, cooked laundry starch for every gallon of water in the bath.

Soda. A soda bath requires two tablespoons of ordinary baking soda to a gallon of water, dissolving it in a little water before adding it to the bath.

Bran. Make a cotton bag of cheesecloth or other thin material, six inches square. Fill loosely with bran. Soak the bag in the bath water, squeezing it frequently until the water becomes milky.

Starch, soda, and bran baths are often used in place of the ordinary soap and water bath when the skin is inflamed, as in cases of chafing or prickly heat.

Fear of Baths

Force and harshness are not likely to cause baby to overcome very much of the fear of a tub bath. Patience, perseverance, and purposeful diversion of mind will bring sure results.

In the case of a very young baby, have a helper stretch a towel across the filled baby tub, lay the baby in it, with its head well supported, and then gently lower the towel into the water, keeping the head out. (Most anyone would fear an all-over ducking, if he had ever been completely ducked into water by a careless or mischievous friend).

In the case of older children, celluloid ducks, fish, or boats may float about on the water, and the entire bath be forgotten by the little fellow's enjoyment of "his boats."

Outdoor Bathing

Although a baby under two years should never be given a sea bath, a word of caution about sea bathing for young children may not be amiss. The cruelty with which well-meaning parents treat young, tender children by forcibly dragging them into the surf, a practice which may be seen at any seaside resort in the summer, can have no justification. The fright and shock that a sensitive child is therefore subjected to is more than sufficient to undo any conceivable good resulting from the plunge. On the other hand, a child who is allowed to play on the warm sand and becomes accustomed to the water slowly and naturally will soon learn to take delight in the buffeting of the smaller waves, but he should not be permitted to remain more than a minute or two in the water, and should be thoroughly dried, dressed immediately, and not left to run about the beach in wet clothing.

Milk Crust

Any roughness on the scalp must receive immediate attention. This roughness, or milk crust, is entirely avoidable; it is the result of accumulated oil and dirt. When it has formed a complete crust or cake, it may quickly become eczematous and require a physician's advice; however, in the beginning, at the first sight of brown patches or roughness, oil the scalp thoroughly at night with Vaseline or cold cream, which should be gently rubbed off in the morning.

About the Author

Dr. William S. Sadler M.D. was a well-known American psychiatrist and college teacher in the school of medicine at the University of Chicago. For over sixty years he practiced his profession in Chicago, thirty-three years being associated in practice with his wife, Dr Lena Kellogg Sadler. The doctors were pioneers in the research on the mysterious Urantia Papers.