him! What is your advice to me in this matter?

A — There is no cause whatever for your distress and fear, Madam. In the head of every newborn child there are two soft spots, not merely one; and all you need do is handle him gently until the bones of the skull knit together and these gaps close up of their own accord.

Q — Do you approve of a timetable for all the child's activities — food, sleep, play, etc.? And how far must one hold to this timetable?

A — Modern medicine recom-mends this timetable; there is no disputing that. But there is a

newer idea, which is that the child should be given absolute freedom to do as he pleases. If his mealtime comes and he refuses to eat, he must not be pressed

at all; rather let the food be taken away until it appears from the child's movements that he is hungry and asking for his food. For nothing is more harmful than for the child to eat when he is not hungry, emptying new food into his stomach at a time when the first food is not yet fully digested.

Q — And if the child cries out and keeps on crying, outside of meal-times, what should we do for him?

A — Do not leave your child to cry for long. Go to his bed and look for the cause of his crying: you may find him uncomfortable in the way he is lying, or in pain from a pin that pricks him or a band that binds him too tightly...

And if you find no cause for his crying, there is no harm in caressing him and petting him

with a few phrases which, though he does not understand their meaning, work their good effect upon his nerves, so that he is soothed by them and sleeps... And do not be afraid of doing this — you are in the right, says modern medicine!