William Cadogan (childcare)
Encyclopedia
William Cadogan was a 18th century British
physician
and writer on childcare
and nursing
.
On 1740s Cadogan became an honorary medical attendant of the London Foundling Hospital for abandoned babies. In 1748 Cadogan published his text An Essay upon Nursing and the Management of Children from their Birth to Three Years of Age based on his experiences with the foundlings
and his own children comparing human infants to animal young. By 1748 Cadogan was a prominent London physician famous for his studies of gout
. On June 28, 1749 he was elected a Governor of the London Foundling Hospital and in 1752 a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1752 he moved to live in Hanover Square, London, resigning his post at Bristol and the following year was appointed Physician at the Foundling Hospital. As Physicians had legally to be an MD of Oxford or Cambridge, Cadogan returned to Oxford University to be awarded one in 1755. In 1758 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and was twice prevailed on to deliver the Harveian Oration
. In 1762 he sailed as Physician to the Army to Lisbon, Portugal but was forced by illness (gout) to return home after seven months. In 1764 he published a contentious book on gout in which he blamed the condition on intemperate living.
He died in London in 1797 at the age of 86 and was buried in Fulham churchyard.
infant
s into tight bundles. The infants should be breastfed
for at least a year, preferably with the milk of the mother or a good wet nurse
, with some solid food after three months. Children should be fed with regular intervals and adults should play with them. Their food and clothing should be light and simple. Adults also should talk with children with adult manner, not with nonsense banter. This should improve children's health and mind and encourage their intellect. Cadogan advocated less regimented childrearing based on nature. He claimed that aristocratic children were suffocated with regimented demands, excess clothing and too much food when poor children grew stronger in harsher conditions. He also emphasized scientific approach to childrearing against what he saw as traditional female superstitions. During the next 25 years the book went through ten editions. It was also translated to several languages. Number of other similar books followed afterwards. Cadogan preceded Rousseau's attitudes to natural and simple living.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and writer on childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
and nursing
Nursing
Nursing is a healthcare profession focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life from conception to death....
.
Career
Codogan was probably born at Cowbridge in Wales in 1711, He was educated at Oriel College, Oxford, graduating as MA in 1727. He then studied Physic at Leyden University from 1732, matriculating as MD in 1737. On his return to England he settled in Bristol and married his first wife Frances Cochran. They had one daughter in 1747. (He later married twice more, to a Mrs Spencer and a Miss Groen, but had no further children). He was appointed in 1747 Physician at the Bristol Infirmary.On 1740s Cadogan became an honorary medical attendant of the London Foundling Hospital for abandoned babies. In 1748 Cadogan published his text An Essay upon Nursing and the Management of Children from their Birth to Three Years of Age based on his experiences with the foundlings
Child abandonment
Child abandonment is the practice of relinquishing interests and claims over one's offspring with the intent of never again resuming or reasserting them. Causes include many social and cultural factors as well as mental illness. An abandoned child is called a foundling .-Causes:Poverty is often a...
and his own children comparing human infants to animal young. By 1748 Cadogan was a prominent London physician famous for his studies of gout
Gout
Gout is a medical condition usually characterized by recurrent attacks of acute inflammatory arthritis—a red, tender, hot, swollen joint. The metatarsal-phalangeal joint at the base of the big toe is the most commonly affected . However, it may also present as tophi, kidney stones, or urate...
. On June 28, 1749 he was elected a Governor of the London Foundling Hospital and in 1752 a Fellow of the Royal Society. In 1752 he moved to live in Hanover Square, London, resigning his post at Bristol and the following year was appointed Physician at the Foundling Hospital. As Physicians had legally to be an MD of Oxford or Cambridge, Cadogan returned to Oxford University to be awarded one in 1755. In 1758 he was elected a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and was twice prevailed on to deliver the Harveian Oration
Harveian Oration
The Harveian Oration is a yearly lecture held at the Royal College of Physicians of London. It was instituted in 1656 by William Harvey, discoverer of the systemic circulation. Harvey made financial provision for the college to hold an annual feast on St...
. In 1762 he sailed as Physician to the Army to Lisbon, Portugal but was forced by illness (gout) to return home after seven months. In 1764 he published a contentious book on gout in which he blamed the condition on intemperate living.
He died in London in 1797 at the age of 86 and was buried in Fulham churchyard.
Childcare
In the care of children Cadogan advocated simplicity and emphasized encouragement to hardiness, including letting them run in open air with bare feet and letting them use their limbs freely. He wrote against swaddlingSwaddling
Swaddling is an age-old practice of wrapping infants in swaddling cloths, blankets or similar cloth so that movement of the limbs is tightly restricted. Swaddling bands were often used to further restrict the infant...
infant
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
s into tight bundles. The infants should be breastfed
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
for at least a year, preferably with the milk of the mother or a good wet nurse
Wet nurse
A wet nurse is a woman who is used to breast feed and care for another's child. Wet nurses are used when the mother is unable or chooses not to nurse the child herself. Wet-nursed children may be known as "milk-siblings", and in some cultures the families are linked by a special relationship of...
, with some solid food after three months. Children should be fed with regular intervals and adults should play with them. Their food and clothing should be light and simple. Adults also should talk with children with adult manner, not with nonsense banter. This should improve children's health and mind and encourage their intellect. Cadogan advocated less regimented childrearing based on nature. He claimed that aristocratic children were suffocated with regimented demands, excess clothing and too much food when poor children grew stronger in harsher conditions. He also emphasized scientific approach to childrearing against what he saw as traditional female superstitions. During the next 25 years the book went through ten editions. It was also translated to several languages. Number of other similar books followed afterwards. Cadogan preceded Rousseau's attitudes to natural and simple living.