Some Hints that Should be Considered

Ladies' Mirror, Volume V, Issue 6, 1 December 1926, Page 88

Some Hints that Should be Considered

Before Starting Out on the Christmas Holidays.

The right hind of clothes. Re sure to take frocks and suits that crease as little as possible, and that do not show the dirt too soon. Cotton crepe, sponge-cloth, gingham, and stockinette are all good. Linens, zephyrs, and muslins should be avoided. Knitted frocks and jerseys will be wanted for cool days. For the boys, grev flannel shirts and knickers, or jerseys and knickers, are best; navy blue is a mistake, as it quickly loses its colour with the salt water and the strong air. Prepare for chance cold weather, but don’t encumber your luggage with heavy winter coats. Take, instead, plenty of old knitted sports coats and jumpers that can be put on underneath the children’s “macks.” giving extra warmth without much bulk. Prepare for wet day too, and include in your luggage a supply of coloured crayons, pencils, one or two card games, and some odds and ends of dress material and balls of coloured wool to amuse the little girls, who like to sew. Accidents may happen. A few first-aid necessaries, such as surgical tape, strips of old linen, a tube of lanoline and some tincture of iodine, will be a prudent addition to your luggage. No best clothes, please, for the journey to the seaside, but cool, easy-fitting things that won’t rumple or show every bit of dust. And soft hats or caps that the children can lean back in when they like. Quite probably we do not wish them to take their hats off during the journeyvery well then, we must provide them with something in which they can comfortably go to sleep ! Take a small sponge, wrung out in water just before starting, and have it ready at hand in a mackintosh bag, together with a large clean handkerchief. Then we can freshen up little hands and faces whenever necessary, for it is not the slightest use expecting children not to get dirty in railway trains, motor cars and ferry steamers. The children’s diet. Children, like grown-ups, often suffer from constipation during the first few days at the seaside. Liquid paraffin given regularly, is the best safeguard, but we must be careful over their food too. Prunes, wholemeal

bread, honey, and treacle will help; we must avoid too many cakes, sweets, bananas, and milk puddings any rate at first. Children often suffer from drinking insufficient water when on holiday, and if mothers would remember always to take a good big bottle of water down to the beach with them, there would be less constipation to cope with. It is best not to let the children paddle or bathe until the bowels have moved for the first time after arrival. Is paddling harmful ? Not if carried out in moderation. But it is a mistake to let children paddle less than an hour after the end of the last meal; or to let them paddle both morning and afternoon; or to allow much standing about in the water. Running in and out of the water, in the course of an energetic game or of strenuous sand-digging, is far better. What about bathing ? Everything depends upon its effect on the child in question. If he shivers and looks blue upon coming out, and can obtain no glow of reaction by brisk rubbing, then either he has stayed in too long or else bathing does not agree with him. Five minutes is long enough for the first bathe, and ten minutes on subsequent days. Children should be encouraged to go for a brisk walk or run along the sands after bathing, unless thev arc tired with swimming, when thev should put on a warm coat and sit in the sun or in a sheltered place. Regularity. Don’t, just because you are on a holiday, let the children get right out of their good habits. Don’t keep them up past their usual bedtime. ■ Don’t let them eat sweets and cakes all hours of the day. Don’t let them be on their feet from morning to night if thev are accustomed to a mid-day rest.