The Waterbury Democrat., 1933-02-22
ERYOUR
 CHILDREN
By Olive Roberts Barton
O5o55 67 Nf1 sfRVIcf. llVc

Don't worry about your baby If he doesn't walk In time or talk on time. By Ion time" l mean tho average age taken from records that show babies walking anywhere from year to eighteen months. and saying single words from ht- teen months on--sometimes earlier
 As far as walking goes, I believe the general run of babies begin It much earlier than they used to- Whether 1t is the codliver oil or not, I cannot say, but am inclined to believe that the daily dose Is ac- countable. Also the new ways or suppiementing diet early with vegetables and fruit juice.
 Walking Is Difficult But even babies so fed and cared for in the most approved manner take affairs into their own hands occasionally. and their time about getting on their feet and toddling off. Sometimes n child will start to walk holding on to chairs Gin fact. they all do), and then months latcr will still be unable to strike out for 1 himself unless hc steadies himself with his hand on something solid.
 It may bc fear of falling. or 1t may be that he just takes n little longer to coordinate. Co-ordina- ton of mind and muscle Is n difii- cult thing. Each step we take is process of falling, but before we lose our balance the other foot finds tho ground and we're safe. Walking is q repeated falling and catching ourselves, because be- tween steps we are off balance. To learn to walk k as difficult for child as 1t would Do for us to learn to vault over n fence suc- cessfully. Just be patient. Don't force the little fellow, or make fun of him, or let him know you are worrying. Some children learn to know your words mean before they walk, even though they can not say them.
 However. If n baby is two years old, or nearing 1t, and has made no effort to get about at' all, 1t would be wise 10 ask tho doctor about 1t. He may need more bone and tissue-making foods.
 And don't worry about his talk Ing, either, unless he is absolutely mute. I have seen children who | tHtkcu NblHRIc WOTuSl ub u Httlc over year old and others who never tried any intclligible sound until they were two. You can't tell about babies and many mothers worry unnecessa
 Unnecessary Worry
 For instance, n mother was up- get because her baby could walk md turn somcrsnults but ho could mt sit down on n Iittlc chair. Here again we strike something hard. he did too! He would go up to tho chair, bend himself in tho mid dc and sit down backwards on the floor. IIo did this for months. No one could teach him to turn his back to tho chair and then bend and let himself go.
 Then finally one day he got the hang of 1t and his mother spent the day at the telephone telling her friends.
 Everything is hard for n little child. We expect too much. We get too impatient and we worry too much.
 Tor every ono child who is real ly abnormal there are thousands of mothers who are supe their Daisies or their Dlckios arc going to be different too. Ono reason ] believe why some children are slow about walking Is that they nrC cooped up to much. The way learned to swim was by being thrown off a dock into deep water ] swami
 (copyrlght 1888. NEA Service, Inc )