OUR BABIES.

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 603, 17 September 1913, Page 7

OUR BABIES.

Published under the auspices of the Society for the Health of Women and Children. " It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." ADDRESSES OF PLUNKET NURSES AND SECRETARIES. Wellington.- —Plunket Nurse Morgan ; assistant, Nurse Mackintosh. Society's Room, S6 Vivian street. Tel. 2425. Hon. Sec , Mrs McViear, 27 Brougham street City. Tel. 2642. Auckland. Plunket Nurses Chappell and Morgan. Tel. Ssl. Office of the Society, 2 Chancery street. Tel. 829. Office hours, Tuesdays and Fridays, 2.30 to 4 p.m. Hon. Sei., Mrs W. H. Parkes, Marinoto, Symonds street. Tel. 240. Napier. Plunket Nurse Donald, Marine Parade. Hon. Sec., Mrs Hector Smitb. Hastings.—Plunket Nurse Purceli. Office of the Society at Mr Bate's Pharmacy. Hon. Sec , Mrs T. W. Lewis. Tel. 285. Dannevirke. P'unke.t Nurse Wright. Hon. Sec., Mrs Bick'ford, Bank of New Zealand. THE SOCIETY'S BOOK. The Society's little book, entitled "What Baby Needs," nan be obtained from the Matron, Karitane Harris Hospital, the Plunket nurses, the honorary secretaries, and the leading booksellers throughout the Dominion. Price 6d, posted 7d. THE ESSENTIALS FOR HEALTH. In concentrating attention on one point, such as mastication, we mußt never lose sight of the other essentials for health We have repeated these over and over again, and it is needless to recapitulate them now. Our readers will also find these and ail other essentials for childhood in the> little book, "What Baby Needs," and also in the new illustrated edition of the book on "The Feeding and Care of the Baby" which is about to be issued by the Society. There is one essential, however, which nearly everyone "believes in" nowadays, but which, on investigation, is found to receive scant attention, and that is—fresh, free-flowing outside air. How many children have as much pure air as they ought to have, especially during the|night? Mothers say: "The children have plenty of fresh air they are out all day long; indeed, they are never in," —quite oblivious of the fact that they are crowded together in close rooms for ten or twelve hours in each tweny-four. Thus all night long they are breathing polluted air, and a large portion of the vigour and energy stored up during the day is taken from them by the devitalising action of the poisoned air which they breathe during the night. It cannot be too strongly insisted upon that merely airing a bedroom only provides enough fresh air for half an hour. If mothers could be brought to realise this the children would be great gainers in the race of life. The following instance which occurred recently illustrates what I mean. ILLUSTRATIVE CASE.

A small boy of four was nearly always "peaky." He tended to catch colds, to nave heat spots, and generally to be somewhat delicate, soft, and pasty. He slept in the same room with his parents and a younger child. The window of the room was open a few incheß at the top, the blind was fixed below the open space, and there was an open fireplace but. the air current was quite insufficient, and I suggested that the window should be opened wide, and the children should have a separate room, with a proper current pasaing through it. The mother said the younger , child was too young, and the other would be afraid to s'eep alone. I said, "Try, and see how he gets on." A few days after I saw them, and said, "Well, has Jacky got his ;room yet?" His mother said, " I tried him, but he wouldn't sleep by himself." The little boy was standing by, and I said to him, "Why, Jacky, you are not going to be a little coward. Annie (mentioning someone he knew) had a room to herself long before she was your age—she liked to have her own room." About a fortnight later I saw them again, and the little boy appeared quite transfigured—he was so bright, fresh coloured, and radiant. I remarked how well he looked, and his mother replied, "Yes he is very well." Then, turning to the little boy, I said, "Well, Jacky, have you a room to yourself yet?" Rather to my surprise he answered with evident pride, "Yes, corns and see," and he showed me his room and all its contents. I said to his mother, "Ycu see what a difference it has made already" ; but she iooked sceptical, and evidently thought the improvement a matter of chance. The abcve case is typical of what has happened again ana again in my own experience. Delicate, ailing - children have become strong and healthy when they have been given a full supply of pure, fresh air, and the other simple essentials for health.

It is hard to get mothers to realise that there is such a thing as air, and I must say here that many of the lathsr3 are almost as bad. The fathers are often much more reasonable and accurate With regard to the feeding of the baby, but they seem to be just as sceptical as the mothers with regard to air. One would have thought that tha value oi a free, full supply of fresh air would have been forctd upon them by the way in which consumptives pine and die if they dwell in ordinary, what are called "well-aired" rooms, but often recover health when they sleeo on a verandah or in an open shed.