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Te Ao Hou, April 1956, Page 62

a happy home. Schools and playing grounds provide excellent after training, but only those children who are accustomed to control are ready to take that training, only those whose good habits and good manners have been started, are prepared for the community life of schools. The home is the starting place—character, like health, must be first established there. Both are essential parts of child care. Toilet Training: When an infant is not quite a month old he should be held over a chamber on mother's knee for 5–10 minutes after feeding time until the habit is established. It requires time and patience. The results will be that it will save you hours over the wash tub, with dirty napkins, wet sheets and blankets. You will be rid of that nasty smell of urine in the children's bedroom, pram and cot. Some mothers have washhouses and proper facilities to cope with the children's washing, there are others who wash outside with no facilities at all. Training children in good toilet habits requires only time and patience, following the doctors' and nurses' instructions and lastly using your own common sense as a mother. Never hurry a child but do not leave him on a chamber any longer than 15 minutes. As the child grows he will know what is expected and by the time he is 2 years old he will run to his mother or to anyone to help him to the toilet. He will realise it is a filthy habit not to reach the proper toilet. If the child is taken to the toilet regularly after meals he will not meet with frequent accidents about the house or during this play-time outside. Durign the night he will call to his “mummy” or “daddy” to be lifted out of his cot and be taken to the toilet. If no toilet room is inside, a chamber in the bathroom or bedroom will do, but be sure the child is fully awake and knows what he is doing. This plan will save you wet sheets, mattress and night attire, also offensive urine odour in the room. If the child does not wake or call, you could establish a routine yourself to pot the children during the night. At 10–11 p.m. wake the child up and place him on his feet, walk him to the toilet or chamber if the toilet is outside. This method has been proved quite successful. It requires patience. A child when awakened will cry. Do not be harsh or smack him, your method of training will be useless. When a child has repeatedly wet his bed just be patient with him, and try to realize how ashamed he must be, after all he is your child, and he must not be spoken to harshly or smacked. With patience and loving care he will overcome bed wetting. Drinks at tea time need not be restricted. Toilet training is still very poor in a good many Maori homes, please try this method, you will save yourself hours over your wash tub.