OUR BABIES

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2717, 11 March 1916, Page 10

OUR BABIES

TBI Etgbia.T Published uuder tho auspices of tho Royal New Zealand Health ,Society for the Hoalth of Women and Children. "It is wiEer to put up a fence at the top of a preoipic# than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." ■ PICTURE SHOWS AND BABIES. A mother; who is a prominent member of one of the branches of . the society, and who has a family of several young children of her own, writes to mo very forcibly concerning the evil custom of parents taking their babies to "the pictures." My correspondent mentions that their branch of tho society has taken tho matter up, and is gotting a paragraph of protest and appeal on behalf of babies inserted in the local papers. the request to give further publicity to the matter ill- "Our Babies" column is well timed. Oi\e is glad to do anything that may tend to stem this growing evil. Not only have I s lonp; felt very strongly on the subject myself, but I have heard it discussed and denounced by tho more capable and thoughtful of our people from end to end of the Dominion. It is practically impossible to speak too strongly as to the selfishness and thoughtlessness of the parents who sacrifice -the health of their children— not merely their bahies —in order to be trivially amused for a few hours away from home in crowded, stuffy, glaring, restless halls. The results ivould be bad enough in the day time; but the wrong of- dragging out children at night, When they should all be sound asleep in their beds, is ten times greater. REGULAR DAILY HABITS. There is nothing moro imperatively necessary for uninterrupted and orderly growth and development of nil young creatures than simple, perfeotly-rogular daily hahits. Not only is regularity of the first importance as regards the taking of food and the action of the bowels, but it applios with equal force to allowing no departure from tlio times appointed and set aside for sleep. The best can be done for the child only if the parents are deeply imbued with'tho spirit which impelled Dr. and Mrs. Fitz to dedicate their book on Infancy "to those Parents who deem- tlie Training (and Rearing) of their Children their supremo Privilege and Duty." . This is the key to the whole situation. I have never known a mother say she thought it was.good for her child to accompany here to the pictures— indeed, I have never;known any parents seriously'contend that they thought the praotice other than injurious. But the lame excuse is made: "Well, you know, we must get some outing and enjoyment, and the only chance mv husband and I have to. get out together is in the evening." It is not for me to discuss or point out here in how many ways parents could get an evening's entertainment rroin time to time withuut dragging out their children with them, .racking their nervous systems, impairing their digestion and growth, and depriving them of their proper night's rest and sleep. It may suftce to say that it is the first IhLn i -fr iSTat , uro tbat P ar6llt fi should be willing and anxious to place the lite- ong welfare of their childl-en before their own temporary gratiiicaloii' before the silly modern craving to be trivially amused, irrespective ot time or -fitness, and oblivious of the harm done to others—amused in ways that were unavailing and unheard-of by parents of past generations. SELF-SACRIFICE A PARADOX. Nowadays one scarcely dares to mention "selr-sacriiice" as a first' duty of parenthood; indeed, i am not inclined lo press this oUt-fashioned virtue vory uiuoli, because l .nave found tiiat in tlie case of the largest and -best-reared families (whore tJie parents would naturallj be held to have sacrificed most) any reference to the sacrinces they have made is generally met- with tlie prompt disclaimer: "Sacrifice! There's too much talk of the hardship of sacrificing oneself to one's children: the truest joy in life-rests m doing, one's Lest for them. Of course, when they are yeulig, thej fill nearly all'one's tnougiite anu time: but it is the people who don't givv themselves heart and soul to their chil- ■ tl'reu who havo the inojst work to dc lor'theui in the long run. I'd soonei rear hallf a dozen happy;-'healthy'chil-dren than battle along with one discontented child who is never really: well The children are;no trouble, so long as they're well.J'. N ••' ©mall families, capriciously"... neglectec and over-indulged by' turns, <will continue to.be the rule until . the joy ant .privilege' of parenthood and its duties and responsibilities reoce'upy their ok high place, in-the world. ■ 'mere-can b( no justice to.' childhood .ivliich does liol give children the'first place, ill, tin thoughts of. 'the. parents. , Nowaday! many people are inclined; to, rogard thi< as a very ,'nafrow,. old-fashioned view 'but lam glad!.to know that there .ar< still to be found those who'lieartil; endorse and follow what Mrs. Earli tells uswasiier own personal experienci as a mother "In the days, long ago, when in; children were and, as is apt ti bo the case when one' is surrounde* with a small growing-up family, hal the population of the world seemed t< me to be children, my thoughts wer< so centred, on the subject that nothiui else appeared to me of any great ini portaiice."—From "Pot-Pourri from ; Surrey Garden." I shall deal further with the "pic tures evil" next week; but meantim I hopo I have satisfied my readers that in this particular connection at leasi it is mainly the parents and not "th i pictures" that have to ibo reformed!