OUR BABIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 20 January 1940, Page 10

OUR BABIES

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society lor 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."

THE HOLIDAYS. Cothing, Wraps, Etc. Railway carriages are draughty places, and yet are hard to ventilate and apt to be stuffy. A good deal of ingenuity and tact is necessary to make the best of the conditions. It is risky to let children get overheated, so try and adjust their clothes to the time of day and the temperature and to take them out for a run on the platform, if possible whenever there is a sufficiently long stop. Needless to say. a plentiful supply of napkins for a baby is a necessity. A mackintosh bag is the ideal way to carry wet napkins when travelling, but if this is not procurable it is a good plan to make tight little parcels of them in several thicknesses of newspaper. You will find that a bundle of old newspapers will come in handy in more ways than one. A light rug and cushion are most necessary for the comfort of a small child, and with' these and a spare seat the matter of a daytime sleep is simplified. Sleep. It is all-important to ensure some sleep for the little ones if over-fatigue and fretfulness are to be avoided. This may be very difficult if the train is crowded, but sometimes a bed may be improvised by placing a wide board between a seat and the one immediately in front of it. Pushed up against it and the outer wall of the carriage, and with a rug and cushion upon it, this makes a comfortable enough bed for a toddler —one which is perfectly safe if the board is well wedged and a suitcase is propped against the outer side to prevent a tumble. The Useful Dressbasket. The dressbasket is invaluable when travelling with a. young baby, making as it does a comfortable bed and a receptacle for the baby’s clothes. We have travelled with babies by train and boat —healthy, normal babies and tiny weaklings—and have found that they need not be moved at all except at feed times, but will sleep and lie awake quite contentedly, rather enjoying the constant movement. The result is a minimum of fatigue for mother and baby—very different from the utter exhaustion of both when the baby, having been’nursed all day, is restless and irritable because of the complete upsetting of his ordinary routine. Tiny babies may be “packed” in a dressbasket before starting. The improvised ' cradle can be easily carried for short distances by one person, and the baby is kept uniformly warm and protected from wind and draughts.

Next to the dressbasket, probaby the most useful piece of luggage is the. canvas carry-all, which conveniently accommodates all the knobby and awkward last-minute articles. Toys and Playthings.

A few simple toys and picture books, a puzzle perhaps, and a block and pencil form part of the necessary paraphernalia; but most children will be interested for hours in watching the novel hights out of the carriage windows. Conveniences.

It is never safe to allow children to us any lavatory in the ordinary way when travelling. An excellent plan is to make a circular pad of several thicknesses of paper to cover completely the ordinary seat and to mark the top side of the pad. This will’ make things safe, and, folded in half and itself wrapped in paper, it will pack away quite easily. Otherwise

an ordinary little enamel chamber may be taken. Some pieces of old linen (damp or dry) will come in most handy and save handkerchiefs and towels. Tea Trips.

A sea trip (unless the mother is a bad sailor) does not present nearly so many difficulties as a long train journey, especially if it is a night passage. Children are comparatively rarely seasick, and there is room for them to lie down comfortably.

Train Sickness. Very occasionally we find children who are habitually train or car sick, and the only thing to do is to give very light food before starting and to manage some means of allowing the child to lie down. In conclusion, one might remark that the mother who has trained her children in obedience, regularity, and good habits generally will reap her just reward when holiday travelling time come round. The long day will pass without unbearable exhaustion on anybody’s part—parents, children, or fellow-travellers.