OUR BABIES

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 14, 7 April 1927, Page 4

OUR BABIES

By HYGEIA. 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.’’

During’ this “transition period” we first need to be on our guard against that gradual loss of condition which so often comes about after the baby begins to toddle. The onset may be so insidious and the progress of the “going-off” process so slow that it may pass quite unnoticed, without any thought of the causes which are at work in producing the change. There are several most important things to watch at this time, lest neglect of any cause the rosy cheeks to lose a little of their bloom and the firm, round limbs to become a little soft and flabby, even if no markedly noticeable effects are seen. These are: Baby’s food. llis proper amount of rest and sleep. His regular habits in all things. His time spent in the open air. Suppose that baby has been naturally fed for nine months, has had his regular rest and sleep* and has spent a great deal of his time in his pram outside —in other words, his mother has used her common sense and ha's followed simple, practical advice. The result is eminently satisfactory; baby is bonnie and in every way firm, a good colour and contented. Now comes weaning time —crawling time—time when baby has seme solid food—time when, as it were, he starts a new phase of his little life. Now is the time when it is all too easy to forget that baby needs exactly the same simple essentials for all-round good health as he did in the previous nine months —fresh air, good food and water, absolute regularity, sufficient rest and sleep, etc. WHAT WILL HAPPEN NOW? For the sake of comparison, let us look at the wrong way first, and see what should not be, but what too often is. Baby is weaned—cow’s milk and water take the place of his mother’s milk, with spoon feeds of various kinds: porridge, bread and milk, rusks (.most likely heavily sweetened), or perhaps a patent food. Baby likes the taste of the swfeet rusks, and prefers them to plain oatmeal jelly or twice-baked bread. He goes on from rusks to biscuits indeed, “bicey” may be one of his first words). He also finds he can obtain one of these toothsome morsels at almost any time by a little persistence in grizzling. The same performance at grown-up meal times assures him a place on someone’s knee, and from there he surveys, with beaming smiles, the array of fascinating playthings. At first spoons and forks are all he asks, but soon it strikes him that it is scarcely a fair thing to ask him to play with empty spoons, while his parents ply their steadily to and fro. So next he makes his conviction of unfair treatment known, and someone says, “A little, taste won’t hurt him,” and someone else says, “Well, just this once,” and so the deed is done—as simply as that is the taste for unsuitable food and pieces between meals established, and all the early training in regular habits undone. Soon baby is taking a little of whatever is going, at or between his meals, with the result that instead of eathing three plain simple meals a day until his natural appetite is satisfied, he is having the equivalent of his parents’ diet of three meals—with four in between. WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER FACTORS WE MENTIONED? Baby discovers he likes company and bright lights in the evening—prefers them to his lonely cot at morning and evening sleeping time; and again someone says, “Just this once,” and again the deed is done. As for fresh air, he doesn’t relish being put outside alone to play or sleep, but much prefers to be in the nice warm kitchen. And so, as we said before, all unnoticed, regular habits have been lost, and diet is unbalanced, and there is too much excitement, and not enough rest and sleep or fresh air. Presently baby gets a mild attack of diarrhoea, which is very slow to clear right up, and everyone notices that he is looking off-colour, but this is put down “to his teeth.” But alas! he may never quite recover the beautiful firmness, the healthy glow of colour or the quiet contentedness again. He is, his mother may say, “quite all right,” but what has become of the beautiful baby? Next week we shall go into the practical management of the baby during this period, and the steps we can take to assure that he enters his second year fully up to the normal standard in every way—loo per cent, fit to tackle life as a toddler. WOMEN’S CLUBS AVONDALE SOUTH The Avondale South Women’s Club held a meeting in the Mission Hall on April 5, when the president, Mrs. 13. M. Kealy, presided over a large attendance. Miss E. M. Newton, who was unanimously re-elected as the representative of the club on the National Council of Women, delivered her monthly report. Mrs. Kealy introduced Miss Laura Walker, a pupil of Dame Melba, who gave a bright and interesting talk on “Music,” interspersed with vocal selections, accompanied on the piano by Mrs. Fairburn. On behalf of the club, Miss Newton, in a happy little speech, warmly thanked Miss Walker for the pleasure her address and items had given the members. An instrumental trio by Mesdames Fairburn and Calder and Miss Kealy was much appreciated. Afternoon tea,' served by Mesdames Oxenham and Aldred, brought to a close a very pleasant and successful function. Fruit stains can be removed quickly by applying powdered starch, which will absorb the colouring matter of the fruit. Afterwards wash the article as usual. It has been alleged that women make indifferent motorists. For one thing, they_are rather given to sounding the horn when overtaking a pedestrian, with the result that he frequently escapes.