Counsels on Health - Ellen G. White

not injured, and the calm, self-possessed course the
mother pursues in the treatment of her child has
much to do in molding the mind of the infant. If it
is nervous and easily agitated, the mother’s careful,
unhurried manner will have a soothing and
correcting influence, and the health of the infant
will be much improved.
Infants have been greatly abused by improper
treatment. If fretful, they have generally been fed
to keep them quiet, when, in most cases, receiving
too much food, made injurious by the wrong habits
of the mother, was the very cause of their
fretfulness. More food only made the matter worse;
for the stomach was already overloaded....
The mother often plans to accomplish a certain
amount of work during the day; and when the
children trouble her, instead of taking time to
soothe their little sorrows, and divert them,
something is given them to eat, to keep them still.
This accomplishes the purpose for a short time, but
eventually makes things worse. The children’s
stomachs are pressed with food when they have not
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