Nursery maids - The Infant Care

-  Benson.A.R,
Nursery maids

Nursery maids

 The first and most important considerations in selecting a nursery maid are her health and personal habits. Many mothers entirely forget to consider these points in choosing a maid, and yet it is probable that more infants acquire tuberculosis, for instance, from nursery maids than from hereditary causes. The nursery maid should be young; those from twenty to thirty years are more satisfactory than those who are older and have had more experience. She must be honest, conscientious, and willing to adapt herself to the wishes of the mother in caring for the baby. Older women are apt to have too many bad notions, and are usually too fixed in their ways. The nursery maid should report every detail to the mother with as much care and intelligence as the trained nurse exercises in reporting to a physician. No detail of the nursery is too slight to be overlooked. Many infants have acquired bad habits from nursery maids which have lasted them all through their lives, and in the majority of cases, without the knowledge of the parents.
 Nursery Maid's Bedroom : The nurse should not be allowed to sleep near the baby. If possible she should have an adjoining room. The impure air from an adult's lungs is not good for the baby to breathe.
 Training : The nurse should understand babies thoroughly, and for this reason those who have had training in a babies' hospital are apt to be more successful. The chief attributes of a good infant's nurse are a fondness for children, willingness to obey implicitly the directions given, and an even temperament, which can adapt itself to the delicate nature of the infant's mind.