  Families going to strange cities to establish new homes are still able to obtain gasoline with which to travel by car. A few tips on automobile travel may therefore be of value. Proper care of your baby when traveling by car can be summed up in this way: Clean milk, clean water, clean food, and as little change as possible from the regular schedule to which he is accustomed. Most young children enjoy riding in an automobile although they do get tired and bored on long trips. There are many things that you can do to make traveling by car easier. When your baby is small, take him in his carrying basket, if you have one, and put him on the back seat in a coach or sedan or on the back ledge of a coupe, if it is wide enough. Small canvas hammocks that fasten onto the back of the front seat may still be available and are a real boon to the baby who must travel. If your baby's crib fits into the back of the car, you will have it ready for him to sleep in when he reaches his new home. When your baby can sit up, there are canvas seats available that hook over the top of the car seat. These will keep the child comfortable and erect and allow him to look out the window without stretching his neck. The young child can take his afternoon nap stretched out on the back seat and covered with a light robe or coat. Plan your packing of luggage with this in mind. The baby's food must loom large in your plans if he is not breast-fed. You will either have to find a place each night where you can prepare his feedings and devise a way for keeping them on ice and heating them while you travel, or you will have to put the baby on the evaporated-milk Small portable stoves using canned heat can be used to heat the feeding, or you can stop in restaurants and ask a waitress to have the bottle heated for you. The important thing is to have a feasible plan worked out for doing it. Cereal, canned food, and oranges may be obtained along the way. When stopping for meals, be sure to select good places where well-cooked food can be obtained for young children. Be certain that the milk served the youngsters is pasteurized. And insist that the milk be served directly from the bottle (opened at the table). Order sensibly for the children, getting them the same type of meal you would supply them at home. By all means carry your own water, and for the baby or young child it should be boiled. Give the youngsters a drink from your own supply before stopping for food. Don't let them drink water from drinking fountains, hotels, or tourist homes. This does not mean that the water may not be all right; it is merely a precautionary measure against digestive upsets. If you are traveling by car, you will be able to take along the baby's own toilet equipment, and remember to carry it with you into rest rooms, hotels, or tourist homes. Don't attempt to drive too many miles in one day when a baby is a passenger. Babies require many stops, and rest periods for a toddler should be frequent. Plan to stop each night by 5:30 or 6 o'clock. This will give you time to select a hotel or tourist room and get the baby or toddler comfortably to sleep by his usual bedtime. If toddlers are part of your carload, you will have amusement problems. Gather together a number of small toys and place them in a box of their own. If yours is a two-seated automobile, allow the youngster to change his seat often. Sometimes he will enjoy riding in the A job this traveling with babies in wartime! Certainly not something to attempt lightly. But if you must travel with your baby, you'll be doing a real war service if you make it as painless as you can to the transportation system, your baby, and yourself. The Bureau gratefully acknowledges the work of Mr. Gluyas Williams, who illustrated this booklet as a contribution to the war effort. UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR FRANCES PERKINS, Secretary CHILDREN'S BUREAU KATHARINEF. LENROOT, Chief Children in Wartime No.6 Bureau Publication307 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office |
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