OUR BABIES.

Waipawa Mail, Volume LIV, Issue 83, 3 April 1933, Page 1

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.” CONSTIPATION IN OLDER CHILDREN. As we have been discussing the cause and cure of constipation in infants, this seems a suitable opportunity to refer to the simple rational curative treatment for constipation in older children. First of all, one must remember that the same rules hold good for the older child as for the baby—indeed they apply right through life, as do all the great simple rules of healthy living. That is to say, the toddler as well as the baby needs: — Regular habits, Fresh air day and night; not coddling in stuffy rooms. Abundance of outdoor exercise. Freedom of movement, without the hampering and coddling effect of too much heavy clothing. The right food and plenty of water to drink (the water preferably boiled and cooled). HABIT.

A habit is a definite line of action carried out more or less involuntarily in response to certain stimuli. In other words, a certain set of circumstances may be used to produce a certain response or action. If circumstances and action are repeated regularly, the action finally becomes automatic and involuntary—that is, it comes about without exercise of conscious thought or wall "power. That is why habit formation is so tremendously important in childhood, and why it behoves us to spare no pains in establishing good body habits from infancy. These are the ultimate foundations of all-round obedience. One need hardly say that the baby who has been trained from the earliest days to have regular daily bowel movement is very unlikely to suffer from genuine or persistent constipation when he comes to be a “bigboy.” Irregularity and neglect to cure constipation in the first year is the usual precursor of later trouble, and if the tendency is allowed to go on undirected through childhood the seeds of infinite trouble in later life may be sown. However, sometimes illness or other unavoidable circumstances break the good habits of early days, or for some reason the small child is or becomes constipated. Then is the time when it is worth" while to concentrate all efforts on establishing habits of regularity once and for all. It is “never too late to mend,” but the later bad habits are left unchecked or good ones unformed the harder it is to put things right. TRAINING THE TODDLER. A low nursery chair with a special seat, under which a chamber can be placed, is a very useful piece of equipment. It is much easier to teach a child- this lesson if one can tie him in a chair and know that he is safe and well supported than if one has to rely solely upon seating him on a little chamber, one disadvantage of

V'hich is that it affords such a temptingly easy means of locomotion and exploration! It is very amusing- to see (or hear) an enterprising toddler propelling himself round the room in this manner, but it is not conducive to serious consideration of the business of the moment! Similarly, it is a great mistake just to seat the child, surround him with toys, and then leave him to amuse himself. The associations are all with play, and the business of emptying the bowel fills no place in his mind. Any distractions tend to defeat the purpose in view. Everything possible must be done to make him realise that this is work, not play time, and to associate all ideas with the function to be performed, until the desired result is obtained. Then the child should be taken up immediately and the line of thought definitely changed. Posture.-—The position in which the child sits is important. The chair should be low enough to allow the feet to be firmly planted on the floor, and the buttocks should be lower than the knees. In other words, the squatting position is best; it aids voluntary movement of the bowels, principally by affording- support to the abdominal muscles.

Time. —The main point is that the time should be the same day after day. Directly after breakfast is usually quite the best time, as it is the least liable to irregularity and interruption. (To be continued).