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Show 1 : !l ' - I . , . " Sunning the Baby In His Carriage. (l'roparod by tho ITnlted States Department of Agriculture.) WiNU Servlco. Iialilos ueed sunyhine, and so do older old-er children. It lias nn Important effect ef-fect on tlteir growth. Of course, everyone ev-eryone has reullzed this In a general way for a long time, but only In recent re-cent years have we known the reasons. rea-sons. Normal growth of bones depends not only on the food that the child eats, but also upon the mineral content of that food and the presence of vitamin D. Vitamin D Is fo"und In cod liver oil as well as In certain foods, or it may be supplied to the body by exposure expos-ure to the direct rays of sunlight. When bones do not form or grow normally, nor-mally, we say the child has rickets. Where there is plenty of sunshine and children can be out-of-doors in the un throughout the year, they seldom have rickets. In colder climates, however, how-ever, where children must be Indoors so much, this disease Is likely to be prevalent. Mothers should begin very early to take precautions against rickets rick-ets by providing diets with adequate mineral content supplemented with cod liver oil during the winter months and sun baths the year around. Only a part of the sunlight is effective effec-tive the ultra-violet- rays. Less of these are present In the winter sunlight. sun-light. These rays do not pass tiirough the ordinary window glass nor through heavy clothing, so it is necessary to-put to-put babies frequently where the direct sunlight will fall on their skin. At this season of the year a baby can be placed out of doors in his carriage every ev-ery sunny day if protected from wind. People used to think it necessary for babies to be carefully shielded from direct sunlight. When a baby was put out-of-doors he was bundled up in many clothes and the hood of the carriage car-riage was pulled up to keep out every ev-ery ray ot sunlight. It has also been believed that a baby's eyes are weak and sensitive to light. The sun does not cause inflammation, in-flammation, but -it should never be allowed al-lowed to shine directly on the eyes whether they are open or closed. The moment the child opens his eyes he gets the full effect of the glare, caus ing a shock which the child's processes are not organized to handle. Repeated Repeat-ed shocks of this kind may cause permanent per-manent Injury. There is a way to expose ex-pose the baby to plenty of sunshine without eye Injury, as Is shown in the accompanying Illustration. The hood of the baby carriage is arranged so that the sun will shine on the baby's cheeks but not In his eyes. He should be turned first on one side and then on the other. His hands, too, are exposed to the sun's rays for a few minutes each day. The illustration is from a chart prepared by the extension exten-sion service of the United States Department De-partment of Agriculture In a series which Is called "Build Early for Good Growth." In sunning a baby care must be taken tak-en not to burn his tender skin. A slight reddening of the skin each day will gradually bring about tanning. Get the baby used to sunlight by degrees. de-grees. Excessive tanning should be avoided because it prevents the ultraviolet ultra-violet rays from penetrating, and therefore makes the sun bath less effective. ef-fective. Every few days the amount of body surface exposed should be Increased, In-creased, at first slowly, but as the days grow warmer, more rapidly. After the face and hands are used to the sun the arms may be bared. Do this for only a few minutes at first, the time being increased daily. Soon the legs may be bared. Later sun baths may be given the whole body. In warmer months the length of time is increased considerably, but the sunning should be given 11 a. ra. or after 3 p. m. to uvoid the very hot part of the day. |
