Your Little Girl’s Charm

Manawatu Times, Volume 64, Issue 308, 30 December 1939, Page 11

Your Little Girl’s Charm

What Ot The Years Ahead ?

“T WANT my little girl to be pretty” j is the wish of every mother of a girl baby-but the wish should go further 1 than childhood. The wise mother plans « and fosters the fundamentals of a beauty 1 that will carry her daughter through i childhood to her “deb.” days and on to womanhood . . . Even if your wee daughter comes into the world with a fairly homely face and 1 little enough hair she has the essentials ; of beauty that will blossom and last if the right care and attention are expendcd. For what is beauty or lasting beauty in a woman? Good health reflected in wellkept hair, a smooth skin, clear, sparkling eyes and good teeth, and a gracious manner and softly modulated voice mean more than the features and the form of a Venus de Milo. All modem mother know the importance of health and medical advice. No longer need children develop an inferiority complex becaue they squint or because their teeth are crooked; these and many other defects can be corrected. No one worries about chubbiness in children, but flabby fatness, often traceable to glandular trouble, can be checked by medical treatment. A visit to the oculist may be as important to your child’s health as to her beauty. Eye-strain can bring about a nervous condition conducive to biliousness and other troubles. It can -Iso be responsible for fits of depression caused by the child’s inability to concentrate on school studies. Frowning and forehead lines, so hard to remove later, may have their beginnings in early eye-strain. Avoid Glare. Never hang toys on the hood of the pram or basinette. See that the nursery lights are subdued, and if baby calls for care during the night try to give it without switching on the light. Remember, sun-’ athing is good for baby only when her eyes are sheltered from the sun’s rays. A broad strip of green cotton material stretched out above the pram or basinette eliminates glare. Because your daughte-’s eyes will have far more to do than yours ever had, teach her not to read in trains or swiftlymoving vehicles; this puts tremendous

strain on eyes. To save her the painful process of eyebrow plucking, which you may have endured in the cause of beauty, teach her to gently brush her brows into a long sweeping line and to occasionally apply a little olive oil to the tips of her lashes. Most important to beauty are beautiful teeth and the shape of the mouth. Much can be done to encourage a well-shaped mouth during the whole time a child's second teeth are coming through. Hands should be kept, from fidgeting with the mouth. This habit, together with thumb-sucking, so often causes malformation of the mouth or spoils its original expression.

A child’s skin requires very simple care. Accustom her to rinse her face with cold water to close the pores before drying it. Towels should be soft and absorbent. Of course, absolute cleanliness without and within are the essentials of a clear, glowing skin. If blemishes appear in spite of this care then medical advice should be sought. Equally important is attention to posture. Unless the child has a definite deformity, bad posture comes from bad posture habits. Corrective exercises today are overcoming postural troubles and reliable people trained in this work are known to your medical adviser whose advice you should seek before getting corrective treatment.

Nagging a child about round shoulders will often do more harm than good. In an endeavour to obey your command to “throw her shoulders back” she will thrust out her chest and abdomen, and hollow her back. The result may be an ugly distortion, which not only spoils the figure later, but can easily cause an internal displacement. Pretty feet, so rare, are so easy to achieve. Modern living conditions have robbed mankind of the feet nature intended for us. Proof of this lies in the grace and rhythm in the feet of an Indian girl, whose pretty toes are never restrict- . ed by shoe leather. Hard pavements, too, take their toll of our foot beauty, and so we pass on to our children all manner of foot troubles. Correct shoes will prevent corns and callouses. Painful ingrowing toenails can be prevented if the toenails are filed straight across. Careful drying and an occasional massage with a good cream will keep the feet soft and prevent the skin from becoming coarse and hardened. Corrective exercises for weak ankles and wallring defects will work wonders. Hair Brushing, Too. Every little girl should possess her own toilet articles; a simple array and yet i undeniably her own. Chief among these 1 appointments should be her hairbrush, one with stiff, widely-set bristles which will be used daily. About twenty strokes night a: I morning will give to the hair a lovely sheen and stintulate the scalp. Of vital importance to the future are reactions which build a sense of rhythm, balance and graceful movement. It is fatal to accuse a child of awkwardness or clumsiness. Rather try to build up new interest to develop poise. Chief among these are swimming, dancing of