OUR BABIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 June 1940, Page 8

OUR BABIES

Published under the auspices o£ 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 nt the bottom." WINTER TIME AND THE BABY. In an endeavour to minimise the physical effects of the cold of winter time, here are a few practical points: 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 cheerful. Children cannot define such reactions, but are affected none the less to a greater or lesser degree according to temperament, therefore the playroom should if possible be light and bright, especially during dull, wintry days. A predominance of the colours of gold, orange, and russet in furnishings make a tremendous difference to the atmosphere of a room. A few shillings are well spent on bright and “sunny” materials for curtains and coverings for living room and playroom 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 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 easily 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 place possible 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 imI prove matters, and baby’s corner can i be made perfectly safe and healthy as I 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 has served its useful purpose for several years.