WOMAN'S WORLD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 16570, 20 June 1917, Page 9

WOMAN'S WORLD.

WOMEN AND NERVES. If you listen you will hear in the course of the day the phrase repeated more than, once: "It gets on my nerves." Now this phrase, like many others, is very illumin- i ating. It is the fashion to say it, but there is a reason for it. Things do "get on our nerves," which would never have irritated our grandparents. Women somehow seem the greater sufferers. They are more highly strung than men, for the most part, and they are, as employers of labour agree, more conscientiousin some cases foolishly so; or, rather, they foolishly allow their employers to take advantage of them, and are very fussy about their work. Men by this time have perhaps learned wisdom ! It is not only in business, but in pleasure and in the home, that so many women live a life of over-strain. The war has added to this strain ten thousand fold; and in how many ways ! Now it is our duty to lighten this strain whenever and wherever possible. Let us think of some of the ways which may help. To begin with the business girl. Have you ever noticed girls, especially the younger ones, in their dinner-hour? Aa a rule they are living at top strain. They sit, perhaps, crocheting or Knitting, nearly always talking shop with a friend; and the food they order is not such as could possibly keep them in health. Cold fish or sausage, and buns and tea, or lemonade ; such things are of little use to a hard-working girl. If only they would try, in train and 'bus and restaurant, to relax, and to rest body, brain, and nerve as much a? possible, and if they would order a good hoi, substantial meal, what a difference it would make. It troubles one to see quite young girls undermining their health through ignorance. They feel strong now and take advantage of it; the results will be felt in later years. Then the fever of work seems to l be in the blood, and pleasures taken and books read must be feverish, too! One who leads a busy, rushing life should make a point of only taking very quiet pleasures. Why rush to exciting plays and picture palaces? Why read exciting novels? The taste for quieter things grows upon one. Gardening, by the way, is a wonderful antidote to a rushing life, and many girls would get to love it if once they took it up. If they think such things " tame," it should be borne in mind that i "tame" life is better than a rush of pleasure and then a bad breakdown. And, then, what about the home? It should be a little haven of quiet and rest. The parents and each member should do his part to make it so. Quiet should be the keynote. Doors shut quietly, voices modulated, work done gently—these, and such things as these, make a home what it should be. THE BABY'S THREE NEEDS. When it is considered that the whole after-life of a human being can be tempered for good or ill by the management of the first year of existence, it seems impossible to repeat too often the few fundamental rules that should govern all' thoss who have the care of infants. One might sum up the needs of babies in _ three words—fresh air, regularity, quiet. Babies are but little animals, it is true; but after all they are little animals with a great deal to do for themselves, and they should receive all the assistance possible from those in charge of them to enable them to perform this work properly. In the first year of life great changes are going on in the body, and the baby needs all the help possible to meet the demands made upon its tiny system in the way of tissue formation. A baby cannot speak up and tell us that its meals do not seem to set well, or that a dissipated evening gives it a disturbed night, so there is nothing for parents to do but to watch carefully for all the small but unmistakable signs that things are not going well. Fresh air comes first in the list of requirements, because it is probable that very few babies indeed get all of it that they are entitled to. It has been noted by a wise physician that babies with pneumonia do best if they are kept in the open air as far as possible, and he even tells of nurses clad in fur-lined gloves and coats because the sick-room is kept so cold. But the sick child who would die in a warm, close room, recovers under these conditions.

As to healthy babies, never mind what month they are born in, wrap them up warmly, shield them from direct draught, but let them breathe outside air day and

night. Whatever the baby's diet may _ be, natural or artificial, it should be administered with unwavering regularity. _ The tiniest specimen of humanity is an incarnation of artful cunning where its appetite is concerned, and if it finds that bawling results in feeding, it will bawl, and small blame to it. But the enviable child is one whose mother is _ not disturbed by this fact, and who rigidly adheres to times and seasons. Babies should never be excited by too much play, and especially is this true_ of the evening hours. There _is nothing more entrancing than a gasping, gurgling, hysterical baby; but it is a cruel entertainment, for which the frail, tiny, nervous system must pay the price. APPRECIATION. Women are intricate creaturesLack of a word can make them careless and indifferent, ■ while a word in time can make them perform wonders. This applies to the woman at home as much as to the business area. Monotonous plodding on, without an occasional sign of approval, is very disheartening, and rarely tempts one to give of their best. But just a " Well done!" at the right moment will make all the difference in the world in the office and shop, will make the assistants work harder than ever, create a new stock of energy and desire to pleasei set a high standard to be maintained, and send the employees home with that keen pleasure that comes from the recognition of a good worker. And at home, just a similar word, just a remark dropped at an opportune moment when some' particular effort to please has been made, or a special difficulty got over, just the special word of thanks or appreciation, is worth its weight in gold, and gives fresh life to the recepient. Half the women who have come to the fore in these days of war have made good simply through the unstinting encouragement given them. Those holding posts in the public eye have been lauded by the newspapers and by the authorities. They have been told thev are doing the right thing— it well, too. There's something that one just has to live up to after words like that.

MILK FOR INSOMNIA. An entire milk diet is an excellent thing for the woman who is troubled with insomnia. It is also good for the one who is so nervous that when she does sleep she has the sensation of falling, and wakes up with a terrible start. When these conditions exist it is well to subsist on milk alone for some time. A grown woman should take a pin>, of milk at a meal, but to keep up her strength she should take four meals a day instead of the usual three. People with weakened nerves require a larger quality of water than those whose nerves are strong. POCKETS AND MORALS. Essayists in want of a subject might tackle the theme of pockets and morals, for it is alleged that the reason smoking is becoming so increasingly popular among women—who are even taking to pipes— that women for the first time in memory are providing themselves with pockets on a lavish scale. The pocket, formerly a horror to be hidden and suppressed, is now a great feature of fashion, and with ample pocket room one. of the great difficulties of women smokers— where to keep matches and cigarettes (not to mention pipe and pouch)has i been overcome.

RULES fob books. Never turn leaves with the thumb. Never lean or rest upon an open book. Never turn down the corners of leaves. Never touch a book with damp or soiled hands. Always keep your place with a thin bookmark. Always place a large book upon a table before opening it. Always turn leaves from the top with the middle or forefinger. Never pull a book from a shelf by the binding at the top, but by the back. Never touch a book with a damp cloth or with a sponge in any form. Never place another book or anything else upon the leaves of an open book. Never rub dust from books, but brush it off with a soft, dry cloth or duster. Never close a book with a pencil, a pad of paper, or anything else Detween the leaves. Never open a book further than to bring both sides of the cover into the same plane. Always open a large book from the middle, and never from the ends or cover. ONE FORM OF SELFISHNESS. It is selfish to be untidy. When one person fails to pick up after himself, or to perform his duties promptly and well, someone else has to do double duty—his own and that of the negligent one. Whether there are maids in the house or not, teach the children to perform simple, useful services, and to do it cheerfully. It may be no more than airing their rooms in the morning, picking up after themselves, keeping their books clean and their belongings in good order, i his in as much a part of their training —needed training— the study of arithmetic or algebra. It trains them for a future that is well regulated in detail and makes them observant and discriminating.