Infants and Children

Infants and Children

Mag-Ina sa Banig
by Nestor Leynes, 1960

1. Infants

• If a baby often holds his feet, it means that he wants a younger brother or sister.

• Cutting a baby's eyelashes during her first month will them grow long and beautiful.

• An infant must not be kissed when he is sleeping because he will turn naughty when he grows up.

• A baby who sucks on her toes means her mother will soon be pregnant again.

• Kissing a baby's feet will result in the baby talking back to her parents when she grows up.

• A breech baby will bring luck to the family. She will also have the power to remove fish spines stuck in another person's throat by merely touching that person's neck.

• When a baby is baptized, he should be carried by a person with plenty of coins in his hand or pocket. This brings good luck to the baby.

2. Children

• A child that cries during his baptism is a sign of prosperity. The harder the child cries, the richer he will be.

• When a child is ready to walk, put him on the stairs. Have him step on a plate or anywhere else so long as his feet do not touch the ground first. This is to ensure that he will always find his way home from wherever he may roam.

• If a child's milktooth falls out, throw it up onto the roof of the house so that the rats will find it. When the new tooth grows in, it wil be as strong and as powerful as a rat's tooth.

• Children should not be allowed to play late in the afternoon when the horizon is yellow-orange in color, because evil spirits roam around at the time.

• Stepping over a child while he is asleep will slow down his growth.