PLUNKET SOCIETY

Shannon News, 4 March 1927, Page 4

PLUNKET SOCIETY

, ._. (By Hygeia). The Baby Between 9 and 12 Months Old. . During this "transition- period" we first need to be on our guard against that gradual loss of condition which, so often conies about .after the; baby begins to toddle. The onset may be so insidious and the progress of the "go-ing-off" process so slow that it may pass quite unnoticed, without any thought of the causes which are at work in producing the change. There are several most • important things to watch at this time, lest neglect of any cause the rosy cheeks to lose a little of their bloom and the firm, round limbs'to become a little soft and flabby, even if no markedly noticeable effects are seen. . These are: .. Baby's food. His proper amount of rest and sleep. His regular habits in all things. His time spent in the open air. Suppose that baby has been naturally fed for nine months, has had his regular rest and sleep, and' has spent a great deal of time in his pram outside —in other words, his, mother has used her common sense, and has followed simple, practical advice. The result is eminently satisfactory; baby is bonnie in every way, firm, a good colour, and contented.

Now comes weaning time—crawling time —time when baby has some solid food —time when," as.it were, he starts a new phase of his little life. Now is the time when it is all too easy to forget that baby needs ;'exactly the same simple essentials for all-round good health as he did in the previous nine months—fresh air, gopd food, and water, absolute regularity, sufficient ■ rest and sleep, etc. . • • What will happen .now? For the sake of comparison, let us look at the wrong way fust, ..and. see what should not be, but what too often is. . " '' Baby is weanecV-cow's \ milk and water take the place of his mother's milk, with spoon-feeds of various.kinds: porridge, bread and milk, rusks (most likely heavily sweetened), or perhaps a patent food. Baby likes the taste of the sweet rusks, and; prefers them to plain out-meal jelly' 'or twice-baked bread. He ..goes on from rusks to biscuits (indeed, "bicey" may be one of his first words). He also finds he can obtain one of these toothsome morsels at aimost any time by a little persistence in grizzling. The same performance at grown-up meal times assures him a place on someone's' knee, and. from there he surveys, with beaming smiles, the array .of fascinating • playthings. At first spoons and forks are all he soon it strikes him that it is scarcely a fair thing to ask, him to play with empty spoons, while his parents ply theirs steadily to and fro. So next he makes his conviction .of unfair treatment ..known, and someone says; "A little taste won't hurt him," and someone "else s'ayss, ""Well, just this once," and so the deed is done —as simply as that" is the'taste for unsuitable food and pieces between meals established, and all the early training in regular habits' undone. Soon baby, is tak-

ing a'little is going, at or between his meals, with the result that instead of eating three plain, simple meals.a day until his natural appetite is satisfied, he is having the equivalent of his parents' diet of three meals—with four; in between-. What about the other factors we mentioned? ... / ■{ ■ --• !* * Baby discovers he likes company and bright lights in the evening—prefera them to his lonely cot at morning and evening sleeping time; and again someone says, "Just this once," and again the deed is done. As for fresh air, he doesn't relish being put outside alone to play or sleep, but much prefers to be in the nice warm kitchen. _ And so/ as-we-said before, Ml v&QM noticed, -regular habits have" been the diet is unbalanced, and there is too much excitement, and not .enough rest and sleep.or fresh air. >-- Presently baby getsj'a mild attack of . diarrhoea, which is very slow to clear right up, and everyone notices that he ■-_, is looking off-colour, but this is put down '.'to his teeth." But alas! he may never quite recover the . beautiful "firmness, " the healthy glow of colour or the quiet contentedness again. He is, his mother may say, "quite all right,"but what has become of the beautiful baby? Next week we shall go into the practical management -of the baby during this period, and the steps we can take to assure that he enters his second year fully up to the normal standard in every day—loo per. cent, fit to tackle life as a toddler.