CHILDHOOD'S DANGERS.

Waikato Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 3501, 1 December 1894, Page 12

CHILDHOOD'S DANGERS.

Most of us have marvelled at times that the, steps of childhood travel along the pathway of life as safoly as they do. Their own inherent and abundant heedlessness, and the more culpable unconcern of busy or careless parents, render their escape amid the accidents of everyday experience ' little else' than miraculous. Their trivial duties, their pastimes, their very toys,may, and do, become the occasions of injury. In an instance recently published some children were amusing themselves with a model steam-engine; while thus occupied one of them was burnt to death. The letter of a correspondent suggests, another and more subtle source of mischief.. Walking in the street, he saw a straet vendor offering for sale toy bagpipes, which he tested in tarn by blowing in the usual way with his' mouth. Naturally enough the suggestion presented itself as to the possible consequence were any of the child public to and use, as doubtless they did, the toys inflated with such questionable lips. Such dread as this is neither morbid nor visionary. Fresh air will not always suffice to cleanse a breath residue, and an infected mouthpiece has before now been the origin of grave constitutional troubles. We might,, however, multiply casGs of a like or of different kinds, each illustrating the necessity of parental supervision over children surroiinded by little suspected pitfalls. We do not forget that busy people cannot be constantly looking after their juvenile offspring:. Nevertheless, we are certain that more c ireful supervision is easily possible. Were it exercised we should less often hear of children run over burnt, drowned, or otherwise lost to their homes, for no reason but that they were left to their ovw incapable guidance.—Lancet.