OUR BABIES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 77, Issue 154, 2 July 1934, Page 2

OUR BABIES

THE NORMAL CHILD (Continued) Last week wc printed our talk about “Baby’s ALlcstones of Physical, AJentai and Al oral Progress,” which arc likened to a highway. The embodiment of ail that arithmetic is just an average healthy baby—a normal child —but one who would satisfy any mother and be welcome wherever he went. Wc can all name—we can all see—bonny babies setting out bravely on. life’s highway. I am sure wc would all do our utmost to help them keep up with their milestones as the time goes on. But what has gone to make our normal baby? Is it by accident he possesses all these qualities Is he just one of the lucky ones? I must tell you that our normal baby is the centre of a magic circle, winch, so long as it remains unbroken and no enemies are lying hidden within, will protect him from all harm. The circle is kept by 12 good fairies, and every baby, rich or poor, in town or country, may have these guardians if only his mother wills and works for them/ We all know that the centre of a circle is the safest place if one has to be constantly on guard against attack. Wc are familiar with pictures of fortified pas of old Alaori days. Provided the circling walls remained intact and no traitors arose from within, the inhabitants were safe from their foes, but one breach in the walls or treachery within and the enemy has direct access. The same here with our baby here in the circle. The influence of his forefathers and his lather’s life and his mother's own life during the nine months prior to his birth may have handicapped with weak spots within. Tho past we cannot alter, but here in the present Res our golden opportunity, and the baby with a handicap needs s the 12 good fairies even more than his stronger brother. Essential No. 1. Air: We may continue to exist for some weeks without food, but without air we can live for three minutes only. Fresh air is one of the greatest of Nature’s bounties, but, being invisible, intangible, free, it is unappreciated. The great preventives of coughs, colds and bronchitis are fresh air, cool air, moving air. 2. Water, which, like air, we don’t appreciate because we have it in abundance. The chief point to emphasise with regard to baby’s supply is to ensure its purity. His inside is more vulnerable than his outside, so his drinking water is boiled. The fact that more than two-thirds of baby’s body consists of water may help us to realise that he may be grateful for a drink of water often than wc dunk. 3. Food: Baby’s natural food, his own mother’s milk, is his birthright. Nothing can ever replace it. If he cannot have the best, he is entit’ed to the next best thing—properly made and graded humanised milk; and in his second and third years and onwards

good, sensible food, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables; three meals a day and no pieces. 4. Clothing comes next and should be light as well as warm and non-irutat-ing. 5. Bathing: The fairy knight of the bath is usually a great favourite. He stands in a cosy corner, well equipped with eoap, towels, waun clothes, etc. We should not be tempted to prolong baby’s bathing ceremonies unduly lest ho catch cold. 6. Museular Exercise and Sensory Stimulation: These arc powerful allies. Baby’s first act, that of crying, is exercise, which expands his lungs and brings many muscles into play. S’ncc baby cannot at once aspire to a daily dozen, don't begrudge him 15 to 20 minutes’ hearty howling. Within a few days of birth he begins to take pleasure in stretching in the freedom of his bath, and as his mind developshis activities increase, until his littn* body is a hive of ndustry. Tho law of exerese applies to man and all members of the animal kingdom. Every part of the body and the mind is strengthened by exercise and weakened by inactivity. Exercise means progress. The daily exercise of a five or six-months-old baby should include at least an hour’s vigorous muscular work in the form of kicking (say anything up to two hours in a kickingpen or other safe place, protected from draughts); 15 to $0 minutes’ vigorous suckling every four hours, with the rubbing and ‘ handling 'given almost unconsciously by his mother; exposure to open moving air and sunlight. 7. Warmth comes next; more helpful at the feet than at the head—a good thing of which wc may have too much. 8. Regularity of all habits is a very important factor in the normal baby’s life from his very first day. What a difference healthy habits can make! And with an infant w e start with f clean sheet —no old bad habits to overcome. So important is the value of cariy training in good habits that one might almost say, “Take care of the first two years and the rest will take care of themselves.” 9. Cleanliness in everything protects baby from many dangers. • 16 and 11. Mothering and Management: Does it seem superfluous to mention this to mothers? All of us love babies, but through our very love and care we may cause them to suffer in the end. For spoiling a child is a serious thing. But if management is combined with mothering the baby is happy. 12. Rest and sleep follow naturally in tho cycle. They are of vital importance. Why does baby need so much sleep? Because his machinery iuiis at high pressure. All engines made by man are finished before they are used, but the human body is worked while it is growing. At first baby should sleep nine-tenths of his time. At six months he needs 16 to 18 hours out of 24, at a year he needs 15 hours, and at four years old 12 to 13 hours. It is te.rible to read that grave adult diseases, such as insomn a, hysteria and insanity, can be traced back to over-stimulation and lack of rest in infancy. Socrates says that “in every work the beginning is the most important part, especially in dealing with anything young and tender.” Healthy