THE QUINTUPLETS

Evening Post, Volume CXXI, Issue 131, 4 June 1936, Page 24

THE QUINTUPLETS

A TYPICAL DAY DIET AND EXERCISE TAP DANCING CLASS (From "Trie Post's" Representative.) VANCOUVER, May 6. Irrfantile mortality in Canada and he United States, especially the latter, s being substantially reduced from a relatively high proportion as a result )f Dr. Dafoe's care of the.quintuplets. Medical. men testify to' this. At the lead of the' movement is the babies ioctor, who, from his base in Northern.. Ontario, has contributed to medial journals his conviction that science should regard the present death-rate, ji one in every ten infants, as a reflection on our civilisation. Dr. Dafoe claims that his treatment of his little charges closely Parallels that of the typical . Their diet, he says, is based on traai tional ideas of infant feeding.He says that the experience gained from the care of his babies should benefit other infants in their first year of life. He frequently pays tribute to he received, in the early, anxious days of his care of the quintuplets from his younger brother, Dr. William Dafoe, who is infant specialist at the Toronto General Hospital. He has proved invaluable with and help to me and the babies, he observed, in an address to the Quebec Society for Crippled Children. At the same function, the younger Dr. Dafoe facetiously observed: There was a-time when I fancied I was building a reputation for care and treatment of infants. Now, I am relegated to the 'kid brother' class —brother ol the quintuplets' doctor!" EDUCATION AND FUTURE. The future of this unique group is Dr. Dafoe's chief concern. He realises that problems will arise, regarding their education and later care. There is a note of pathos in his voice as he discusses it. "These problems will have to be solved as they arise, with the best of my ability, and with the advice of others. The bodies and minds of these happy and healthy little children will never he used As a basis of experimentation. There will be a wealth of opportunity to study, by observation only, the intellectual, sociological, and physiological development of a group of identical quintuplets." At the moment, with the connivance of their medical adviser, the babies are learning tap-dancing, which he regards as a practical form of exercise. The children, he said, start off solemnly enough as they are lined up before Nurse Noel, who hums some old French-Canadian tune. "They begin,' he said, "with a couple of kicks, which develop into bouncing jumps, and end up with their usual tumbles. But they keep time, and all appear to be promising dancers." ,

PARENTS STILL RESTIVE. The parents of the quintuplets, resenting their inability to secure control of the children, return to the attack on the guardians by alleging that thd children are not receiving the correct diet. The parents have daily access to the children, and are immediately recognised by them, but are not permitted to alter the routine of their daily lives. The parents allege also that the children cannot talk. They are being taught French, their parents' language, before' they learn English Both charges are denied by Dr. Dafoe, who presents the time-table of a typical day in the life of the five little girls. . . 6 a.m.—Cod liver oil in fruit juice, usually orange. 7 a.m.—Bath. 8 a.m.—Breakfast: egg, bread and butter, milk and arrowroot or similar biscuit, about soz of milk for each. Two hours of play, indoors or out, depending on the "weather. Milk or water freely, as the children desiie. Noon.— Midday meal: soup, containing ground pulps of vegetables, usually green vegetables, suc}i as asparagus tips (which the parents described as a "greenish mush"), bread and butter, milk or custard dessert, milk. When available, fresh vegetables are used; otherwise, homogenised canned vegetables and fruit. After this meal, sleep till 2.30 p.m., | then play, indoors or out. 3.30 or 4 p.m.—Cod liver oil, more play, milk or water, as desired. 5 p.m.—Sun bath in the nursery, under mercury lights, particularly on 1 -lark days. 5.30 p.m. —Bath. 6 p.m.—Dinner: oatmeal and other ■ cereals, bread and butter, milk. Each of the three meals is preceded i by a feeding of acidophilus milk, of , about 20oz a day for each child. Con- • sumption of ordinary milk is about three-quarters of a quart a day for " each. , . '■ 7 p.m.—Lights out m the playroom; t get ready'for bed. i 8 p.m.—All five asleep. It is seldom - one wakes for water.