to dyspeptic symptoms is apt to lead to much unwise changing of the
diet, and everything tried falls in turn into disrepute, until perhaps
all rational diets are abandoned, and some mixture of very faulty
construction, because of its temporary or accidental success, becomes
permanently adopted--a mixture perhaps so deficient in some necessary
constituent that, if it is persisted with, permanent damage to the
growth of the child results. We must pay less attention to changes of
diet and explore our management of the child to try and find how we
can make his environment more restful.

It is wise to accustom a nervous child from a very early age to take a
little water or fruit juice from a spoon every day. Otherwise when
breast-feeding or bottle-feeding is abandoned one may meet with the
most formidable resistance. Infants of a few months can be easily
taught; the resistance of a child of nine months or a year may be
difficult to overcome. The difficulty of weaning from the breast
recurs with great constancy in nervous children. By this time the
influence of environment has become clearly apparent. The child is
often enough already master of the situation, and is conscious of his
power. Such children will sometimes prefer to starve for days
together, obstinately opposing all attempts to get them to drink from
a spoon, a cup, or even a bottle. When this happens, sometimes the
only effective way is to change the environment and to send the baby
to a grandmother or an aunt, where in new surroundings and with new
attendants the resistance which was so strong at home may completely
disappear. When weaning is resented, and difficulties of this sort
arise, it is clear that the mother, whose breast is close at hand, is
at a great disadvantage in combating the child's opposition.

For nervous infants, alas! broken sleep is the rule. What, then, is to