MOTHER AND BABY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 17894, 14 June 1920, Page 8

MOTHER AND BABY

CHILDREN AND WHOOPING COUGH. It is quite a common belief that > children Can only catch whooping ? cough if they “catch the breath” of ” another who has it. These ideas do harm, for they prevent many people from taking proper precautions against the spread of infection, while the truth of the matter is that one child coughing could scatter the ina factious germs broadcast in the air I- i and infect every other child in the t ' room. Nay, more —it is quite probr ' able the germs might be carried on d the clothing of grown-ups to their t: children at home. e i Such things would be impossible ; it people had knowledge as to the nature of the way infection is spread, and a sense of responsibility as to their duty in preventing it from spreading. No child suffering from whooping cough should be taken to church, to “the pictures,” to shops or anywhere that other children may be met. As a matter of fact, chilldreii in the stage when the cough is most troublesome should be in bed. They should not be out. of doors at all—of all times during the spring weather, when cold winds are so common. If this simple precaution were always taken, whooping cough would not have anything like the terribly high mortality rate it has at present. What every mother should know is that it is not like an ordinary cough. It is a special ailment spread by a germ, and its chief danger is the disastrous effect it may have —if neglected—upon the lungs of the sufferer. BABY’S DIET. The fact of the two-year-old baby was covered with rash and she was cross because her “tummy” hurt her. “Dottie has indigestion, but I can’t imagine who she gets her weak stomach from, for both Jim and I i can ea. anything and never feel it,” i said the baby's 20-year-old mother. • We were at the dinner table, and 1 while she talked about poor Dottie’s ■ weak stomach, she let her eat one 1 sardine, one pickle, one helping of 1 potato salad, and a chunk of cheese. 1 And Dottie’s mother was a high- 1 school graduate, too. I It seems a pity that a school will 1 let any girl go from its class rooms ! without giving her some training for the kind of work most girls engage I in upon leaving school. Using incorrect English should not | be considered as great a crime as not ' knowing what to feed a baby. Dottie’s mother is a young farm- j er's wife and is bright enough to , learn about feeding a baby, but she , has become so absorbed in keeping , the house clean and feeding the hired man and the chickens, that she has | jumped at the conclusion that a baby ' can eat anything a grown up can live on. She is making herself a lot of unnecessary trouble, for her baby’s ■ suffering from indigestion is causing her a lot of work and worry and doctor’s bills which she could easily avoid. In general, babies are born well, and their illnesses are the result of mistreatment after they come into the world. TO MOTHERS. Have you thought about the con- , dition of your teeth? ( Did you know that if your teeth are bad the health of your baby may < be affected? If your gums bleed did you know that you should have your teeth cleaned? Fine pieces of tartar will be found around the necks of the teeth under the gums. Did you know that you should eat plenty of dark bread and vegetables which you should thoroughly chew? These foods will give you the lime salts for the growing baby. Did you know that if you nurse your baby you have twice as good a chance to raise it? Also your baby will have a better shaped mouth and stronger teeth if nursed? Do you know why so many children have badly shaped mouths. It is because they are allowed to suck a bottle too long or to suck a comforter or perhaps a finger or thumb. When a child has a high, narrow arch from such habits its nose is partly closed and it gets into the habit of breathing through its mouth. Such a child will have frequent colds and is more apt to catch measles, whooping cough and all such diseases. A POPULAR SASH. One of the most popular sashes for children this season, is the very narrow one of grosgrain ribbon. An unusually fetching one can be made by twisting a pale blue grosgrain ribbon about one inch or less in width with a pale pink ribbon of the same width, tacking it loosely here and there and fastening it at the back or side closing of the dress, with a knot and two or three short loops, allowing loose ends to reach to the hem of the dress. * » « It the little one wears short socks they can be kept in place nicely by sewing together a length of white silk elastic, just snug enough to fit around the top of the sock. A little turn down of the socks will com-

pletely cover the supporters which are less expensive than the ribbon ones that are sold for this purpose. Nine months is the minimum time [in which a baby must have some t breast milk regularly if he is to de- , velop to his best powers, and a year j is better. One feeding a day can ( usually be maintained up to a year. , That wives are still marketable ■ goods in parts of the kingdom, . notably South Wales, was the aston- ■ ishing fact revealed in the Divorce • Court recently (says an English • paper.) During the hearing of a petition, a co-respondent said that ■ he took another man’s wife because he understood that there had been a “dissolution of partnership in writing” between husband and wife. Mr. Justice M'Cardie said that in bigamy cases at Manchester and other places in the north he had had letters handed to him sbow’ing that husband and wife had decided to j dissolve partnership, and had done | so iu writing. Mr. Tyndale raid he : knew of a particular district in | South Wales where contracts for I the bargain and sale of a wife were | often entered into. He added that i he had advised in such cases more than once. “It is quite a common thing in the colliery districts of Wales for a miner to sell his wife.” said Mr. Tyndale to a press representative. “The usual form of contract is something like this: I , hereby agree to give the sum of £lOO for the wife of ——, and take possession of her from this date. “I have dealt with hundreds of such cases,” continued Mr. Tyndale; “the last was six months ago. I think the practice dates back hundreds of years. Of course, it was i not at any time recognised by law."