"UGLY DUCKLINGS"

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 60, 8 September 1938, Page 19

"UGLY DUCKLINGS"

HELPING PLAIN CHILDREN

GROWING TO A "SWAN"

i Mothers are very easy to impress, I comments a writer in the "Daily Mail." [ Ask any baby in the cradle. They | enthuse in public about creased necks . and button noses. They will call upon > an entire household to admire a gummy • smile. But babies don't stay in the [ cradle. They grow up and, if their . mothers' haven't got wise to them- ; selves, soon find out that adoration >. never did anything for anybody's face. : - Children are more comely than they used to be. Their clothes are specially designed for them. Their hair is sleek and cropped. They do toothbrush drill as a matter of course. There is still, however, a great deal of unnecessary plainness among children. The ugly duckling is well aware of her looks. Her mirror and the remarks of her contemporaries are crystal clear. Letting her "grow out of it" doesn't help her feelings or her face. Adenoids are public enemy number one. Treat them seriously. The best features in the world cannot redeem the dull expression inseparable from adenoids. When they are removed by operation gargling and breathing exercises will help to improve the shape of the mouth and nose. EYE-STRAIN. Then there is eye-strain. "A crosspatch expression, and -s .even what is called a deceitful look is often the direct result of. short or defective sight. Scowling, wrinkling the "brows, and narrowing the eyes are all very "plain" signs. Often eye. trouble is unrecognised until school days begin, and by then it may be really serious. A daily eye bath should be included in bathroom drill for children who live in towns. . - - . ■ ■ . ■ - - Teeth matter from the very beginning. If the toothbrush game begins soon after bottle days the five-years-old is going to have a pretty good : lopking smile. : , . ~ , SOUND RULE. \ A good skin will redeem the most inconsequent nose and chin. , Spots are very u'gly-duckiing. Plain water " between meals and plenty of fresh fruit at' them is a sound beauty rule. An all-fruit breakfast for a month will work wonders on a spotty little face. Hair. Penny straight and tuppence curly. Young hair pays well for brushing. That "ordinary" little .daughter will look lots better if her straight locks shine like new straw. And take your son to the. barber on his first birthday. A well-meaning mother can make a permanent mess of a fellow's hair. Skilful cutting and finger modelling after a shampoo will transform a badly shaped head. ... It is really cruelty to refer to a child's "plainness" openly. She immediately feels inferior and unhappy, and so becomes plainer than ever. I see red when I hear some mother say, "Oh, I can never make you lojpk anything" to a small daughter handicapped by a snub nose or straggly hair. The same mother will spend endless trouble on her daughter's looks when she is 16. One plain child in &< good-looking family is another problem. ,If comparisons are made, "poor Sally" will 'over-compensate herself in some way. I She will develop a sharp tongue or a clever method of scoring off her brothers and sisters. She will strive to be "extraordinary" in some way to make up for her lack of beauty. With special attention to her good points she need never become "poor Sally" at i all. Every child can have well-kept hair, skin, and teeth. Every child has a right to the most becoming clothes her parents can afford. Adenoids, eyestrain, and wrong feeding make far more ugly ducklings than snub noses, freckles, and protruding ears.