OUR BABIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 16 June 1938, Page 4

OUR BABIES

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). “It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” WINTER TIME AND THE BABY We often hear people complain that dull weather with grey skies sends their spirits down to zero, and it is common knowledge that a long spell of cold sunless days increases the tendency to catch colds and other infections. Everyone tends to suffer, more or less, from lack of sunshine, and the mental and nervous centres tend to become depressed by lack of light and “cheer.” Remember that cold in itself is invigorating, not harmful to hardy, active people of any age. Bad weather constitutes a danger only to those who are soft, coddled, or weakly, or who are living under wrong conditions. “FEELING THE COLD” We must not forget, however, that cold lowers vitality and is depressing to the nervous system, and therefore in our very endeavours to harden a child we may expose it to an infection and ill-health. Some children “feel the cold” more than others, and should be treated accordingly, whilst at the same time everything possible is done to tone them up and improve the circulation and vitality generally. Children suffering from lack, of warmth and light tend to be fretful and listless; they do not run and romp about in order to get warm. Such activity is the result of reasoning—the natural tendency is to huddle up and conserve what warmth is there. Who does not know the feeling of reluctance to getting out of bed when one wakes up slightly chilly? Anyone who has had experience in the care of little children knows how utterly miserable they may be on cold early mornings, when, once awake, they will not keep snuggled down in bed. There often follows an unhappy hour or two until a warm corner in the kitchen or playroom is ready and breakfast comes on the scene.

t EXTRA CLOTHING. . The wise mother is always on the e watch and ready to regulate clothing to the changing conditions of the day. For these early morning hours it is essential to attend to the baby directly he wakes and sits up before he gets chilled. Remove the wet clothing and 1 slip on one or two extra close-fitting e garments, long socks, and gloves. As - the day or room warms up and active i exercise is taken lighten the clothing. _ During fine weather all but the £ equivalent of summer clothes can be discarded during the sunny hours about noon, and real sun baths may be taken in a suitably sheltered spot; then as 1 the day wanes, be ready with extra 3 wraps. j COMMON SENSE, NOT CODDLING This sort of attention is not coddling. 1 it is common sense; but it should be 1 unobtrusive and done in such a manner 1 that the child does not feel itself the - object of anxious solicitude on the part s of the mother. One may foster self- . reliance by teaching the child to take , off and put on his own cardigan as required. Quite a little child will soon , say, “Poof, hot!” and proceed to divest himself of superfluous garments. Remember that knitted garments, whilst the best and warmest of wear * in still air, offer no resistance to wind, 1 and one thickness of silk, cotton, or > other close-woven material is required i for outings. i The crawling baby is a problem in 1 cold weather. He needs a complete t suit of closely-woven or knitted woollies covering feet and thighs. Gloves, too, may be a comfort. The ' tops of old woollen stockings or old woollen bloomers and jumpers make - good sensible crawling suits. A good : big pen with solid sides and a warm ’ rug inside is a help in keeping baby i out of draughts, also keeping him in a [ warm sunny spot wherever such may , be. , LIGHT AND COLOUR It is worth considering, too, the effect of light and colour apart from actual sun and air. Darkness and drabness are depressing. Lightness and bright pretty colours. are stimulating and cheering. Children can not define such reactions, but are affected none the less to a greater or smaller extent according to temperament; therefore the playroom should, if possible, be light and bright, especially during dull winter days. A predominance of the various shades of gold, orange, and russet in furnishings make a tre- . mendous difference to the atmosphere , of a room. A few shillings are well spent on bright and "sunny” coloured materials for curtains and coverings for living room and play room at this time of the year. Even clothes make a difference to our feelings, and no less to children. Most little children love pretty colours, and a gay new cretonne apron made out of scraps of material will help to dissipate the effects of a dark and cheerless day. VENTILATION AND WARMTH Proper ventilation of a playroom is very important, though not always easy to achieve. A room with a fireplace is best.. because a chimney assures some degree of ventilation in any room. A modern gas fire set in an open chimney is an excellent .method of warming nursery or playroom. The chimney gives ventilation and the gas fire provides easly regulated warmth without requiring constant attention and it emits a cheerful glow of light. With an electric radiator and no chimney it is difficult to keep a room comfortably warm yet fresh, and one has to give more thought to airing and ventilating a room. THE KITCHEN AS A PLAYROOM If the kitchen is the only possible place for the little ones to play in when indoors, take stock of your kitchen from the point of view of making it as healthy and suitable for that purpose as possible. First and foremost is the question of ventilation and fresh air. Quite definitely the close warm air of an ordinary kitchen is thoroughly bad for a child. To spend hours in such an atmosphere is very enervating

and lowers the vitality of every part of the body. It produces a condition in which the child is extremely susceptible to colds, coughs, and chest troubles besides predisposing to the growth of adenoids and enlarged tonsils. BABY’S CORNER By a little careful thought and planning much can be done to improve matters, and baby’s cornel' can be made perfectly safe and healthy as well as comfortable. First of all the window — see that it opens and is kept open at the top. Have the bottom open as much as possible also. Now, choose the corner which is airiest, but not draughty, for a play corner. Call in father’s active assistance in making a pen. For the crawling baby a big packing case does well if cut down to a convenient height, painted and lined; but the toddler needs more space. It is an excellent plan to make a little wooden fence or barricade which can be fastened across the corner and removed when not required. We have had experience of such, used either in a room or on a veranda, to which it and the children were removed when the sun came out. The children called it the “barrow cade.” There came a time when it was the most absorbing occupation to endeavour to climb over it, and eventually its day was done; but not before it had served its useful purpose for several years. It is, of course, quite a good plan to start early and keep to the practice of giving the toddler his meals on his own little table instead of in a high chair at the family meals. It is can be managed it is a great boon to get him out of the way beforehand like this, and it helps to prevent the habit of expecting pieces and unsuitable food from the “grown-ups’,” table. i Perhaps some of these suggestions for safeguarding the health of little children on dull days may be helpful and useful.