OUR BABIES.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 48, 25 January 1939, Page 13

OUR BABIES.

(By “Hygeia.”) 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 fcnco at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.’’ THE HOLIDAYS. (Continued). CLOTHING, WRAPS, ETC. Railways 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 to 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 the baby is a necessity. A macintosh 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 j of them in several thicknesses of news-; paper. You will find a bundle of old; newspapers will come in handy in more ways than one. A light rug and a cushion arc most necessary for the comfort of the small child, and with these and a spare seat the matter of a daytime sleep is simplified SLEEP. Tt is all-important to ensure some sleep for the litlc ones if over-fatigue

. and fretfulncss arc to be avoided. This ■ may be very difficult if the train is , crowded, but sometimes a bed may . be improved by placing a wide board be- ( tween a seat and the one immediately , in front of it. Pushed up against it . and the outer wall of the carriage, , and with a cushion and rug upon it, ’ i this makes a comfortable enough bed i for tlie toddlor-—one which is perfectly , j safe if. the board is well wedged and I a suitcase is propped against the outer 1 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 all the baby’s colthes. AYe 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 feeding times, but will sleep and lie awake quite contentedly, rather enjoying the constant movement. The result is the minimum of fatigue for mother and baby—very different from the utter exhaustion of both when the baby, having been nursed all day, is I restless and irritable because of the complete upsetting of his ordinary routine. Tiny babies may he “packed” in the dressbasket before starting. The improvised cradle can easily be carried for short distances by one person, and the baby is kept uniformly warm and protected from wind and draughts. 1 Next to the dressbasket, probably j the most useful piece of luggage is the | canvas carry-all, which conveniently ; accommodates all the knobby and awkj ward last articles. I TOYS AND PLAYTHINGS, j A few simple toys and picture books, I a puzzle perhaps, and a block and pen* j oil form part of the necessary parai phernalia, but most children will be in--1 torosted for hours in watching tho i novel sights out of the carriage windows. CONVENIENCES. It is never safe to allow children to use any lavatory in the ordinary way when travelling. An excellent plan is to make a circular pad of several thicknesses of paper to cover complete-; ly 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 ordini ary little enamel chamber may be j taken. Some pieces of old linen (damp ! and dry) will come in most handy and save handkerchiefs and towels. i SEA TRIPS. A sea trip the mother is a had sailor) dees not present nearly [ so 'many difficulties as a long train journey, especially if it is a night passage, as our inter-island passages generally are. Children are comparatively rarely seasick, and there is room for I them to lie down comfortably, j TRAIN SICKNESS. Very occasionally wo find children

who are habiutally 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 comes round. The long day will pass without unbearable exhaustion on anybody’s part—parents, cliildren, or fellow-travellers.