Ask What You Will About Your Child's Health

(1) My son, nine months old, has had heat rash (prickly heat) covering his face, and sometimes his body, ever since his birth; the doctor has pronounced it eczema. It is a thing that throws me into embarrassment when people ask me about these chronic pimples and why I do nothing to remove them.

(1) There is no magic wand that removes eczema in infants. In many cases the child inherits the susceptibility to skin eruption — that rough, red kind — from his parents. Or perhaps his skin is sensitive to certain foods, which the doctor will point out to you so that you may strike them entirely from his bill of fare. If that proves difficult in his case — and such things happen often — the doctor will give him special ointments according to the stages of the rash, or its kind (weeping or dry). And whatever their kinds, many of these cases heal of their own accord toward the end of the first year. Try to shut your eyes to what certain people tell you on this subject, and know that scores of mothers are facing this same problem.

(2) My son is eight months old and no trace of his teeth has yet appeared. Is he, I wonder, in any danger?

(2) A child's first teeth usually appear in the sixth month; even so, the age of teething is elastic, without fixed limit. Take your son to consult the doctor. Perhaps some earlier illness has come upon him and delayed the coming of his teeth. Or perhaps the obstacle goes back to feeding difficulties, the best known of which is rickets. And if it is neither this nor that, forget about your son's teeth — they will break through by themselves.

(3) Suddenly my son has declared a strike against eating. He will not take his milk feeding at all. He is a year old. And plainly he is visibly pleased and comfortable. Should I worry or not?

(3) Loss of appetite for food means the onset of illness — so off to the doctor with you. But if the child's weight is on the increase and he is always free of fever, his turning away from food may be one of nature's ways of regulating his growth. Appetite varies with the amount of activity or the degree of emotional strain. And do not forget that we grown-ups cannot ourselves eat a set quantity of food every day. Variety in the necessary foods matters more than their quantity.
The child sound of body does not starve himself. If his growth is steady, there is no cause for worry. And most important of all: do not force him to eat. For that makes of him a stubborn child who refuses food even when he is hungry... Draw him — better than to push him.

(4) My daughter, three weeks old, is fretful of temper, restless, much given to spitting up and to crying. I have been told that she is of the high-strung type, in whom activity is doubled, and that she will get the better of these symptoms if I arm myself with patience. But my hopes are often dashed. What is your view, doctor?

(4) It appears that certain infants, those of surplus energy, are born with a nervous system more taut than that of their quieter fellows. No wonder, then, if they exact greater difficulty in their rearing than those less active. To the mother falls patience; to the doctor, sound guidance.
You must provide your tense little daughter with a calm, serene life; keep sharp, sudden noises away from her, and let her sleep in a quiet room. When you carry her, take hold of her with firmness and gentleness, and speak to her softly. The spitting up usually passes with time; and violent crying has its source in colic, which requires treatment at the doctor's hands.