eather; but
even then the dangers of weaning are much less than those of
continuing to nurse, as is so often done, after the milk has become
very scanty and poor in quality.

_When should a child who is weaned from the breast be taught to drink
from the cup, and when to take the bottle?_

If weaning is done as early as the eighth or ninth month it is better
to give the bottle; if from the tenth to the twelfth month the infant
should be taught to drink or be fed with a spoon.

_How may some of the difficulties in weaning be overcome?_

By feeding every nursing infant once a day or by giving it water
regularly from a feeding-bottle. It then becomes accustomed to the
bottle. This is a matter of great convenience during the whole period
of nursing when the mother or nurse is from necessity away from the
child for a few hours; when more feeding is required at weaning time
the child does not object.

_When should a child be weaned from the bottle?_

With children who are not ill, weaning from the bottle should
invariably be begun at the end of the first year, and after a child is
thirteen or fourteen months old the bottle should not be given except
at the night feeding.

_Is there any objection to the child's taking the bottle until it is
two or three years old?_

There are no advantages and some serious objections. Older children
often become so attached to the bottle that only with the greatest
difficulty can they be made to give it up. Frequently they will refuse
all solid food, and will take nothing except from the bottle so long
as it is given, and when finally at three or four years, it is taken
away, they will not touch milk during the rest of their childhood. The
difficulty is here that children form the "bottle habit." This habit
is troublesome, unnecessary, and should by all means be prevented. An
exclusive diet of milk for children of two or three years often
results in anaemia and malnutrition.

_How should one train a child to do without the bottle?_

This is usually very easy if it is begun at one year. The milk should
be poured into a tiny glass or cup and little by little the child is
taught to drink; at first only a small portion of the food is taken in
this way, the balance being given from the bottle; but in the course
of a few weeks the average infant learns to drink from a cup without
difficulty, and all the food can be so given.

If the child is two or more years old, the only effective mea