Pacifiers

Pacifiers, gas in the bowels, catnip, camomile, soothing syrup, castoria, castor oil, syrup of rhubarb, neutralizing cordial, stupidity, and medical superstitution are a conglomeration extraordinary, common in child-raising.

Many mothers seem to think that it is necessary to keep something in the child's mouth for it to suck--a sort of a make-belief eating. It is a bad habit. It is no more necessary than it is for a child to be educated into crying for the mother to give it attention every hour of the day. It means a very bad and censurable lack of discipline. If the care of children is started at birth, as this book teaches, there will be no need of pacifiers, rattle-boxes, toys, jumping-jacks, or anything of that kind with which to entertain them. Children started right usually get all the pleasure they want out of playing with their toes, counting their fingers, sticking their fingers into the mouths, eyes, and noses, and pulling their ears. This is nature's way of allowing them to get acquainted with themselves in the kindergarten school of "hard knocks."

Pacifiers always go with overfeeding. Overfeeding is followed by indigestion, and indigestion is followed by discomfort from distention of the bowels from gas. Gas in the bowels is always accompanied by much crying or fretting. Crying is due to discomfort in the bowels, and part of it is a demand for mothers, nurses, etc., to dance attendance upon the children--in other words, it means spoiled babies.

Overfeeding causes restlessness. To pacify, more food is given. Then follows a therapeutic conglomeration, partially enumerated above, which often ends in death, or, what is worse, invalidism --physical or mental. If physical, then tuberculosis or possibly cancer; if mental, then insanity or crime.

Few can get the proper perspective. Average eyes are rammed up against the kaleidoscope of symptomatology, and every view is interpreted as a distinct entity. They cannot follow a pactfier to tuberculosis, cancer, or electrocution.