Nursery Notes.

Otago Witness, Issue 2688, 20 September 1905, Page 76

Nursery Notes.

— Do'£ and Don't's for Mothers: Paragraphs Each With a Definite "Thought" in it. — Don'b Imagine you can rear healthy children in stuffy room?. No one has ever dene it. Don't ■expect goo<l manners in diildreft iij

they are treated by their elders in ao( unmannerly .naaner. Do not be .surprised if children ara snappish and quarrelsome ;f yo\i set tLam the example by being <o to them. Don't forgot that if you do not make companions of your children in their youth, you cpn't expe<_t thorn to bo your iriends when they grow up. Do rein-eiibor xho Jmpoifanco of milk foi* children, if you want them to gicw strong arid viaorous. Nothing can tak} its place as a builder up of blood and bono. Don't take joung children into crowds, or into '>roa-ded .*hops; infectious illnesses aic of ton caught by children in crowded places. Komember ihey aie much more susceptible than you are. Do opon the nuirseiy window to its widest and the door also directly the ohil-cut-n leave the room, so that a_ thorough draught may blow through it. Nothing so quickly purifies the room a* this. Do "let chikhen oat as n.uch as they want to at meal times. Provided that the food is plain and •wholesome-, thsy won't over-eat Uiomsehe 5 !. They may do this on plum cake or jelly, but they v.oat on pci-ridgo, bread and butter, rice pudding, and roast mutton. Do let children havr pleniy of exercise, even if you have to throw your cherished! drawing room or.en to them for an hour or so on wet dayx. Winter is often a trying 'time for children anrl their elders, but it is Letter to lot the furniture suffer a little than their health. Do nor overlook the importance of weighing th© baby regularly every week during the first year. It is only by care in this matter that a first falhng-oft is detected. 3nr[ can bo remedied befoi'e the mischief has gore fjr — perhaps too far to be remedied. Do not on any account give laudanum or opium in any form to children of any age, unless by a doctor's orders. Opium has a much more serious effect in childhood than in adult life. It is for ihis reason always a dangerous fchmjr to gi<~o "cough bottles," ''cough drops," or "'soothing syrups," cf which you do not know iho nature of the ingredients, to children. Don't give children medicine that has been prescribed for a grown person. What may cure an adult may kill a chile]. Don't neglect diarrhnsa in babies. If allowed to run on it qu:ckly drains an infant's strength, and it may be impossible to restore- this. Do teach children to be orderly in such' things as the putting away of toys, books, etc. Habits of tidiness x rarely come by nature. Don't — because it is easier to do things yourself than teach children how to do them — let your boys and g;rls grow up with slovenly habits. Do remember that making children learn verses from tho Bible ami hymns as punishment tasks generally Ica'ds to a lifelong dislike of wJiat is so learned. Don'f take fidgety children with you when you so to pay calls. It is too great a tax on the forbearance of your friends, and it has led to the severing o f rrquaintaneeslvps. Do insist that children acquire the habit of eating salt with their food. Salt is most beneficial to the digestion, and helps to keep the blood pure. It also is a valuable preventive of constipation. Don't frighten children into being obedient by threats which you have no intention of carrying out. Your future difficulties in managing yonr children are enormously increased by this unwise buts not uncommon practice. Do see that there is a- well-fixed fireguard before tho nursery fireplace, and a "gate" a bolt out of reach of small finger? at the top of the nursery stairs. Neglect of these simple precautions ha.? led to deplorable nursery accidents. Do attend to the thorough drying of children after washing or a bath. Many, liurscs think that jrreat care in this matteris only "fussiness." It is nothing of the kind. Neglect in this matter leads to all sorts of batl consequences, big and little. Chafing, which is the fertile cause of much suffering to young children, is brought on by it ; so is rheumatism, which often leads to heart disease in after life.