Show Your on on Baby pt m and Nine nc I By BYl MYRTLE MEYER YR ELDRED ELORED SLEEPING HOURS DIMINISH AS itS CHILD GROWS OLDER Investigators who have studied the sleeping habits of infants and children children children chil chil- dren find we have been demanding that children sleep too much The older books on Infant care set down that Infants should sleep from 20 to 22 hours dally daily causing wrinkles of distress in the poor mother whose Infant refused to sleep over 14 hours dally daily There may hn have e neen Deen an oc occasional oc- oc Infant who slept this much but he is far from being Ing our well known average infant Despite his early carly habits of or snoozIng snoozing snoozing ing the Infant outgrows them rapid rapid- ly At six months he may sleep three or four hours in daytime and 11 hours at night At 1 year car quite without warning he stops that long morning nap and sets his whole schedule on end If mothers were alert t to the to-the the changes In napping habIts habits habits hab hab- its that come quite regularly at 1 year ear and 2 years fewer children would grow to hate their beds ds as aspens aspens pens of punishment BE DE READY FOR R CHANGE When at about 1 year of age the baby shows shorts a tendency to stop napping napping nap nap- ping twice dally daily it Is 15 wise along with changes In the number of or his meals to change to one daily dally nap right after lunch Fatigue can be averted by giving the baby more frequent frequent fre Ire quent opportunities to rest 1 if It not notto notto notto to sleep so that he wont won't be too cross and tired at his bedtime At 2 years there is another change The afternoon nap becomes becom a battle period In Ill which the weary mother doin doing her dut duty fights valiantly to see sec that the child chUd goes to sleep If she succeeds in the struggle the thc child eventually c falls taUs asleep and slumbers exhaustedly for hours The Thenet Thenet Thenet and net result of or such battles Is ls that when night comes conic the child has no xo desire to go 10 to bed To m my notion tl tills this s is a fruitless victory ENCOURAGE SLEEP When the child chUd shows this de decided decided de- de I de-I preference for staying awake ake dont use forceful tactics Supply all the conditions for rest a dark room few clothes a comfortable and well- well loved to toy Simply see that the child stays ta s 's in bed for an hour playing If he so 50 desires or felling falling ot off to sleep as S he ma may 1 if no pressure L is put upon him Even en If Ir he lie does fall asleep sleep It i Is also desirable to see that the child is up by 3 p p. p m m. at the latest so EO that tha he will be able to sleep again at the regular bedtime The torturous sessions with children at bedtimes bedtimes- and are the result of the childs child's inability to sleep and the thel parents parent's demand that he must The sleepy sleep child Is not Inclined to scream for two hours before he submits to slumber The child chUd who has slept most of or the afternoon following a stormy battle after lunch very ery likely likely likely like like- ly will Keep In mind that we ue are changIng chang chang- ing lag our viewpoints about the necessary iary sary arv amount of slumber Be ready to rel relax x the rules about naps in favor favoro o of more rest periods if It the childs child's actions show that It is impossible for him to sleep Mrs R R. H. H A. A this answers an- an ers s your query |