The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-01-08
YOUR CHILDREN WNlpRobey7sRalzou
BY NfA SERVICE. INC

Babies cannot sleep If they are cold. The older children may manage 1t through sheer fatigue, but even so their slumber is likely to be restless and shallow if their bodies are not comfortably warm.
 Yet they have to have fresh air, and the air these winter months is decidedly frosty at night, but as for that the air we breathe when sleep iIg should be cool, never over sixty degrees, and can be as low as forty. Some adults and some children who are accustomed to cold. can stand 1t even lower, but where there is a baby We have to use care.
 Many houses are equipped with heating systems that take the edge off the outside air at night. Where this is the case many of the prob lems of the sleeping question dis appear. But however that may be, the air should be fresh outside air, and 1t is necessary to use a little in genuity to keep bodies warm and prevent colds. It is settled fact that children who breathe uncontamin- = ated air suffer less from nose and throat trouble and consequently other diseases than those who take their air as they find it.
 Air May Hold Peril
 But l am no Spartan and this fresh-air business learned years ago can lead to untold trouble if it isn't managed properly.
 To begin with, I shouldn't sleep in bed with open sides or top with out it's being lined! and if the beds Of the other children have open or slated tops blanket or some sort of cover should be placed between them at night to keep drafts from playing between heads and walls.
 Night caps are excellent things on the bitterest nights. They can be made any shape and tied under the chin but should not be tight. The tops of stockings can be used, or jersey or fiannelette. Boys with close cropped hair particularly need pro- tection from wall drafts.
 Watch the relative position of win- dows and beds. 1 often wish that air were colored so we could see where drafts go. Sometimes by pulling bed two feet away from certain spot, or away from the wall a few inches, il is possible to avoid q dangerous eddy. study bed positions in your house and investigate those night colds.
 CnecSeClOtn over wooden frames, set in open window sashes at night allow air to come through and break drafts; also there are shutter-like af- fairs that direct the outside air to- ward the ceiling. Window sashes lowered from above are also a help iii obviating night drafts.
 For Sleep in Cold Climates
 In the country and in bitter eli mates, I should use outing blank cts instead of smooth h-fnished sheets. They are as easy to wash and are much warmer. Sleeping bags are be- coming more popular. This Is made Of a blanket folded and sewed at the sides and top except for a "necklet" fer the head to go through. A loose draWstring goes around this.
 The portable screen is another way to break the breath of Old Man Win ter. Every family needs one or two where there are children. They can be made at home or bought rather Cheaply.
 See that beds are dry, and that mattresses are not too thin. If they are and you suspect that cold air comes up from underneath, lay a thick cover over them under the sheets.
 If beds are icy cold, don't let the children crawl in and chill; hot water bag, or even the despised brick heated, isn't bad idea at all. Never lay the baby in a cold bed.