Medicine: Superior Children

The development of U. S. children can be speeded up two or three years by intelligent action on the part of parents, according to Dr. Isaac Newton Kugelmass, one of Manhattan’s ablest pediatricians, who in ten years’ practice accumulated a book full of explicit methods for generating and rearing able children. This he published last week as the first manual anywhere to deal with the child as a creature growing physically, emotionally and mentally from conception through adolescence.*

Parents who want superior children must, Dr. Kugelmass advises, first put themselves in good physical and nervous condition. College professors, lawyers and doctors breed more Mongolian idiots than do farmers because their mental life is more exhausting.’ Very young parents “tend to produce plain citizens. The very old tend to propagate genius. The greater the disparity in age of parents, the more unusual the characteristics of the child-to-be.” Best time for conception, says Dr. Kugelmass, “is immediately before or after the menstrual period. It is then coincident with the woman’s most intense feelings of affection, which bring about a more vital fertilization.”

The earlier a woman knows she is pregnant and can deal with her child-to-be, the better for him. Eighty per cent of a human being is perfected during the 40 weeks in the womb. From a fertilized ovum smaller than a pin head, the embryo multiplies 2,000 million times to become a 7-pound, 2O-inch baby at birth. It is during the first two months of that marvelous multiplication that malformations generally develop. Hence the pregnant woman must at that time take extraordinary care to avoid mental, emotional or physical shocks. She should drink a great deal of water. Well-nourished wealthy women who do no physical work produce bigger babies than poor working women.

Being born is a terrific shock to a baby. The mother and obstetrician, says Dr. Kugelmass, should not rush the act. If the baby does not breathe at once, he should not be slapped, tumbled or doused with cold water. Let him lie still, on his back, and receive a little carbon-dioxide gas mixed with oxygen. Any observable deformity (harelip, club feet, etc.) should be mended during the first month or two. Floppy ears will often set if merely held close to the head with adhesive plaster.

The superior child grows fitfully. During the first two years he grows chiefly in length. The next four years he broadens out. He shoots up again during puberty (12 to 14 years), broadens again during adolescence. His body ripens unequally during those years. At 6, a person’s brain is as big as it ever will be.

While he grows, the child must learn to behave in a way that does not repress his instincts and abilities, yet does not annoy other human beings. Teaching the infant, child and adolescent such emotional and intellectual disciplines is the hardest job that a parent has. Dr. Kugelmass gives many a useful pointer in his manual. Dressing and undressing, he shows, “are difficult techniques for the young child. Each bit of raiment requires a special procedure. If the child is given the freedom of trial and error in the manipulation of his clothing and shoes, he will gradually learn to dress. Parental encouragement, guidance and instruction are more desirable than impatient dressing and undressing the child.”

For parents who want to know how superior their children are. Dr. Kugelmass prints these Progress Tables:

1st Day. Sneezes, shivers, yawns, hiccoughs; sucks vigorously; moves trunk and extremities.

1st Month. Puts hand to mouth; recognizes mother’s face; makes vowel sounds.

3rd Month, Screams when his wants are unfulfilled; laughs when tickled.

4th Month, Holds head steady when carried about; resents it when adults cease playing with him; first appearance of the two lower centre teeth.

6th Month. Sits momentarily without support when in a leaning position; enjoys bath; responds to name.

7th Month. Averts his head to indicate refusal; shows astonishment by opening mouth and eyes.

8th Month. Creeps and changes position; reciprocates affection; maneuvers for attention.

9th Month. Sits alone; turns over when laid face downward; waves ”by-by.”

10th Month. Raises himself to standing position; pronounces clearly mama or dada or their equivalents.

12th Month. Walks with help; cooperates during dressing; understands simple commands; can throw a ball.

15th Month. Walks alone; bowel and bladder control established.

18th Month. Can cross his feet and stand on one foot; can use his handkerchief properly; memory begins to function as in the adult mind.

24th Month. Mounts and descends chair; can repeat words with ease; vocabulary, 300 words.

3 Years. Washes and dries face and hands; brushes teeth, buttons and unbuttons clothing; manipulates zippers; tells simple stories; repeats nursery rhymes.

4 Years. Stands on one foot for 15 seconds; buttons all his clothes effectively; counts up to 5 ; knows where he lives.

5 Years. Dresses and undresses without assistance; attempts to read and write; speaks plainly without infantile pronunciation.

—Growing Superior Children — Appleton ($3.50).