OUR BABIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3614, 19 June 1923, Page 58

OUR BABIES.

Br

HYGEIA

Lubttshed under the auspices st tht Royal New Zealand Society for tile Health •t Women and Children. "It is wiser to put up a fence at tb# top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.”

PLUNKET NURSES, ETC., DUNEDIN BRANCH. NURSES’ SERVICES FREE. Nurse 3 M'Lean (telephone 9268), Mathieeon (telephone 3020), Scott, and Elba Society’s Rooms: Jamieson’s Buildings. 76 Lower Stuart street (telephone 116). and 315 King Edward street, South Dunedin (telephone 3020). Office hours, daily from 9 to 4 p.m. (except Saturday and Sunday) ; also I.indon Oddfellows’ lla'll, Koslyn, Monday and Thursday from 2 to 4 p.m. Oulslations : Baptist Church, Gordon road, Mosgiel, Tuesday afternoons from 2 to 4 P jn. ; Municipal Buildings, Bert Chalmers, ednesday afternoons lrom to 4 p.m Secretary Miss G. Iloddinott, Jamieson’s Buddings, Stuart street (telephone lib). Karitane-Harris Baby Hospital, Anderson’s Bay (telephone 1985). Matron, Miss Buisson. Demonstrations every Wednesday afternoon from 2.30 to 3.30. Training Institution for Plunket Nurses and Kantane Baby Nu rses. Visiting hours, 2 to 4 pm., Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. FRUITS AND VEGETABLES. Bananas. Mothers freqently ask our ad'.ice regarding the giving of bananas to young children. The tisa of bananas for children is deprecated on at count of the ease with which umnaslicated portions are apt to slip down, thus giving rise to digestive disturbances. Some people get over this difficulty by mashing them into a pulp.with a fork forking and whipping them. —but that does away with the n ed for exercising the jaws, etc. Then the absence of acid makes them less potcfßt in cleansing the teeth than apple, for instance. Bananas are strongly condemned for children by Holt and other American physicians, and from the way they speak of the risk of giving this fruit to young children it would seem that bananas must be a corn mon source of diarrhoea,- etc. We have known this to occur in New Zealand, but probably the risk is greater in hot summer weather in continental countries. There is no doubt that even here bananas are commonly decomposing more or less at the time we eat them—indeed, people preler them so. and ine can understand that such fruit would rcturally be risky for children. An adult can eat decomposing cheese or “high” game that would cause acute vomiting and diarrhoea if given to a young child. Orange Juice. When giving children fruit before they can masticate efficiently, orange juice is preeminently Ihe best, as it contains the fresh elements essential for proper growth and nutrition. In cases of artificial feeding, tht, fresh juice of an orange helos to ward off “rickets,” and some such addition must V:e made in every instance after the first month or two where the baby is deprived of its natural food —viz., its own mother’s milk. If oranges are not obtainable the juice of a fresh swede turnip is equally valuable. Apples. When the child is about a year or 18 months old he may be given a raw, ripe apple to munch at. He can rub off portions of the apple with his teeth and lips, and if the apple is whole he will not bo likely to bite off lumps, which he might swallow, and thus lead to choking. The apple should be firm —not too soft, like a Delicious—and the skin should be peeled from the part which baby is to munch at. Spinach. Spinach, well boiled and rubbed througn a fine sieve, is a valuable addition to the food of infants, as it is rich in fresh elements and especially rich in iron. Spinach should be boiled without added water —merely allow the water to cling to the loaves after the spinach has been thoroughly washed and is quite free irom mud and grit. Pureed spinach, made quite smooth and velvety, is very useful in dealing with constipation ; a teaspoonful may be given at 10 or 12 months of age, and gradually increased as tiie child grows older, the amount * being regulated by the action of the bowels. Tomatoes. Raw- tomatoes may be given to children of two years of age. Tomatoes have the further advantage of retaining the freshclement even though “bottled” for winter use. _ Tite Cottage Garden. Always aim at giving the children what you can grow in your garden. Oranges can be grown in the north : apples and spinach anywhere in New Zealand, while tomatoes can he grown cut of doors as far south as North Otago. Avo'd “shop” fruit and shop vegetables whenever possible.

fires.

WELLINGTON, June 13. Mr and Mrs A. N. Heather had a lucky escape from an 11-roomed house which caught fire in Murphy street at an early hour this morning. They were trapped by flames, and had to leave ihe house by means’ of bedclothes tied together into a r °The house and contents were badly damaged. The building was insured for £2250 and the contents for £3OO.