COMMON-SENSE AND THE PERAMBULATOR

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 508, 10 November 1928, Page 20

COMMON-SENSE AND THE PERAMBULATOR

HINTS FOR THE YOUNG MOTHER By ELIZABETH FLEUR. Appearances count with most mothers, but baby’s comfort and health should always come first, and it is far better to buy a well-sprung perambulator than one upholstered in real leather and fitted with silver. The most inexperienced mother knows that she must take great care of the very small child’s back. He is firmly held by a supporting arm while he is being bathed and carried about the house, yet he may endure great discomfort by being wheeled out in a badly-sprung perambulator. Attention should he paid also to the depth of the carriage. Although it would be absurd to place a baby in one out of which he could easily fall, the too deep perambulator has its obvious disadvantages. The child needs warmth and security, but he also requires light and air. If his carriage Is too deep, he breathes the same air over and over again; even when he is out of doors, the fresh air passes over the top, so that he might as well have remained indoors for the amount of good it is doing him. Hoods are used much too frequently. In the hot weather instead of shading the child, as many people imagine, the hood forms an oven in which he must lie until someone takes him out. During the summer months the hood should be replaced by a canopy, so that while baby’s eyes are protected from the glare of the sun, the air is allowed to circulate freely. White or cream is advisable for the top of the canopy, which should be lined with a darker material, preferably green. Whether a fringe is added or not is a matter of choice, but it is not good for baby’s eyes to have long fringes moving before them.

Hoods should never be used except when absolutely necessary. If protection is needed against a strong wind, put the hood half or threequarters of the way up only, and push or pull the pram according to the direction in which the wind is blowing. In wet or very windy weather, it is better for the child to have his airing by an open window in his ordinary cot than to he half-suffo-cated out-of-doors beneath a hood and storm flap of American leather. When not in use, the cushions and other accessories of the perambulator should be well aired in the sunshine, and the coverings, even in the winter, should be as light as possible.