OUR BABIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22286, 12 June 1934, Page 15

OUR BABIES

By Hygeu. 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 fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” BED WETTING. (Continued.) If the habit cannot be broken towards three years of age a doctor should certainly be consulted, if this has not already been done, and any physical abnormality should receive prompt treatment. Bedwetting is sometimes associated with irritation from worms, and the removal of adenoids, if present, may be beneficial. Apart from matters requiring medical ! attention, much depends on the general health, much on the nervous stability, and much on the environment and the suggestions surrounding the child. THE GENERAL HEALTH. In all cases everything should be done to ensure a good standard of general health. There should be abundance of I fresh air (sleeping out is ideal) and plenty of outdoor exercise, alternating with sufficient rest and sleep. The diet should be simple, but not sloppy .or starchy. Fresh vegetables and fruits brown bread and butter, and milk and eggs in moderation are the main essentials. Very little, if any, meat and no rich or stimulating foods should be given. Fluids, though restricted in the later part of the day, should be given in abundance in the morning. Swimming, or, failing facilities for that most excellent of all exercises, cool or cold bathing on rising is a splendid allround tonic. NERVOUS STABILITY, The nervous, excitable child should be kept as quiet as possible, and helped to exercise nervous control in all ways. All forms of stimulation should be avoided, including rough-and-tumble games or exciting stories at bedtime. A FEW DETAILS. A child should not be coddled in heavy clothing, though chills and wet feet should be guarded against. The bed should be firm —not a soft kapoc mattress —and the bedclothes light and not over-warm. The child should be taught to sleep on the side. Some children never wet the bed unless they happen to sleep lying on the back. The child should be wakened to pass urine at 9 or 10 p.m., and it may be desirable to wake him again in the night for a time in order to forestall involuntary action if it is known about what time it occurs. Sometimes this is just in the half-stage between sleeping and waking, and it may be wise to take the child up before he wakens himself in the morning. Needless to say, every single child needs individual study for successful management. SUGGESTION AND THE ASSOCIATION OF IDEAS. In every case of persistent and inveterate bed-wetting we would beg the mother to examine her own attitude of mind towards the matter —to know her own habitual actions, thoughts, and sayings about it. We would beg her to realise that when she uses threats, punishments, or bribery without avail, when she worries and frets about it and dreads the next night coming, she is stamping the child’s mind with the idea that his action is expected and inevitable, besides giving him and his behaviour an altogether undue importance in the scheme of things. A most important thing to do—and most difficult one—is to ignore the whole matter as far as possible. The association of ideas connected with repetition of the habit must be broken, so that the child may feel (chiefly unconsciously) that he is no longer the centre of interest, and that no one is thinking about him or caring very much one-way or the other.

Manx children in whom the habit has persisted to the despair of the parents in spite of all ordinary treatment are admitted to hospital for this or some other reason, and the habit automatically disappears. The _ explanation is simple enough. The child is placed in entirely new surroundings; he is simply one of the crowd and of no particular importance. Apparently nobody expects him to wet his bed, and nobody cares particularly if he does. The powerful suggestion conveyed by the anxious mother who hovered over him is withdrawn; it no longer causes any sensation if he does wet his bed, and hence the seemingly inexplicable cure. We do not want to send children to hospitals, but probably a complete change of environment offers the best chance of speedy improvement. If it is possible to send the child where he will be one of several, so much the better. A tactful explanation must ensure that no suggestion is made to him that his habit is even known. If an accident occurs no notice should be taken by those in authority, although the unpremeditated comments or derision of other children might have a wholesome effect. When the child returns home the subject should lie ignored, and in the case of a relapse (which would be quite likely to occur) a quiet reassurance that it would not happen again and wag nothing to worry about should be all the comment made. We fully realise how difficult it may be to carry out eome of these suggestions. It is infinitely easier to scold, coax, or punish a child than to discipline one’s own thoughts and effect a change of mental attitude. But it is surely worth while.

Finally, we would give a word of encouragement. Barring actual mental or physical abnormality—exceedingly rare comparatively—a cure can always be effected. Early training on the right fines usually prevents the trouble, and wise understanding handling hastens the cure.