OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3103, 3 September 1913, Page 62

OUR BABIES.

Er Hygkia

I’ub’i-Jic-d under the auspices of tne Society for the Health of Women and Children. “It is wiser to pat up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at Uie bottom.’’ CORRESPONDENCE. A “Grateful Mother’’ writes: — I feel so grateful to your Society that I must write to thank you. My baby is a lovely boy of six months past, weighing 191 b. Ho is breast-fed according to your instructions; and is never fed at night. “Kindly send me a pamphlet; also please let mo know what is the best thing to do for a child’s teeth when the y don t come out —the milk ones I refer to. I am anxious about my little girl aged nine, as there are a few new ones come through at the back, and they have just pushed the milk ones into the guru at the side, and they are quite firm. Since reading your page 1 give the children plenty of hard biscuits, but perhaps I am too late in starting for them to derive the benefit. Hoping 1 have not made this too long for your time. —I am, etc., Grateful Mother.’’ REPLY.

You ought to take your little g.’rl to a good dcnt.st without delay. Ho will do what is necessary, and will advise you with regard to the future care of her teeth. It would, of course, have been better had you given your children food which required mastication earlier, but they will derive great benefit if you get them to take a lair quantity of dry food henceforward. You must not worry about not having done so before, because it is only quite recently that attention has been drawn to the great necessity for exercise of the jaws and teeth, and the fact that such exorcise, by increasing the blood supply, ensures proper development and growth of both, thus preventing any tendency to crowding or decay. It is most gratifying to find such widespread interest in the subject, and we are sure that there will be a great improvement in children’s teeth in the near future.

Biscuits arc said to be not so good as crusts, toast, etc., because they are apt to become pasty and stick to the teeth; but plain unsweetened, hard biscuits afford good exercise and can do no harm, unless tlicy arc given last thing at night, and the teeth are not cleaned afterwards. Don’t give your children cakes, sweets, or chocolates except in the smallest quantity. One sweet occasionally is almost as much appreciated as a boxful, and the child runs almost no risk of having its digestion upset and its teeth damaged. Always clean the teeth at night, and don’t give anything to oat till morning. MASTICATION.

The following additional hints with regard to mastication may be helpful. In order to ensure exercise of the teeth and jaws, the first part of each meal should consist of ♦onto dry food such as toast, crusts, unsweetened rusks, and, later, raw ripe apple, oatcake, etc., and the parents or nurse should bite and chow their food many times in presence of the child, thus enticing it to do the same. No Hu d should hr; taken until the end of the meal, and, of course, plenty of time must be allowed. It is a good thing to give a baby a bone, from six months of age onwards. A child who has been thoroughly habituated to munching at and gnawing bones, and chewing hard, dry materials, as the first solid food allowed, will chew even soft food, and keep it a fair time in the mouth, rather than swallow it without any mastication at all, provided always that reasonable trouble is taken to foster and encourage this highly necessary habit. NUTS. Later, nuts may be added to the diet. If these are not merely bitten and chopped by the teeth, but are thoroughly chewed and ground up by the molars until they become quite creamy, they not only give plenty of work to teeth and jaws, but they are highly nutritious and quite digestible. They may be held out as a food to work up to when the child can he trusted to masticate properly. Thus one can say to a child—“lf you chow your toast and crusts sufficiently we shall be able hy-and-bye to give you oatcake or nuts of different kinds, but if you do not use you tooth and jaws you cannot have them; besides that, you will not grow up strong and well.” GIVE THE CHILDREN TIME. Plenty of time ought to bo allowed for meals, and there should be no hurrying over them. No doubt it is difficult to let the children have sufficient time for bathing, dressing, taking exorcise, and breakfast, and then to get them off to school punctually, but it, is well worth the trouble of starring the day half an hour earlier to accomplish this. If the morning meal is a little late, the highly-strung child gets into a fever of excitement lost she should bo.late for school. When breakfast comes her appetite is gone, and the child rapidly bolts some food, snatches up her books, and then rushes off post-haste. It docs not require much imagination to conjure up the train of evils to which such a course gives rise. An extra onarter of an hour would do away with tins, and your little girl would enjoy her meal and bo in plenty of time for school.

Mothers. picture 11 m difference. In thr> one case you have a nervous, peevish child suffering from indigestion. headache, defective teeth, and genera! impairment; in the other, (he child is healthy and happy, the teeth and iaws arrow strong- and serviceable, and (ho whole being is full of brightness and energy.