PRE-SCHOOL CLINICS DO IMPORTANT WORK

Press, Volume XCVII, Issue 28699, 24 September 1958, Page 2

PRE-SCHOOL CLINICS DO IMPORTANT WORK

“This is a way of getting to check the health of pre-school children in those very important formative years from two to five,” said a school medical officer at the Department of Health yesterday as her small patients queued up with their mothers at the Shirley kindergarten. Some children, the doctor explained, do not carry on with Plunket visits after about 18 months and, therefore, there may not be an opportunity until they begin kindergarten or school for general medical . advice or the detection of minor defects. The Department of Health offers these free pre-school clinics to parents whose children are on the waiting list for kindergartens and those already attending. The purpose of the examinations is the early correction of minor defects such as foot or walking troubles, ear, eyes, nose, teeth and throat difficulties, diet and the general condition of the child. Medical officers advise only and if treatment is required, recommend parents to visit their medical practitioner. Preventive medicine is the crux of the service.

“Mothers are really wonderful these days and the majority are eager to co-operate so that their children can grow strong and healthy,” said medical officers of the department. Modern parents, they say, show intelligence and earnestness in seeking advice for their children’s welfare. Many of the behaviour problems or pre-school ailments considered by parents too trivial to justify a visit to a doctor nevertheless worry them, and this is where the department can help with advice and information to assuage parents’ doubts. "New Zealand children are without doubt getting bigger and better all round,” said the smiling doctor yesterday as she examined a strapping almost four-year-old girl whose limbs were straight and whose eyes were bright with health and vigour. “This child is more like a five-year-old in physique.”

Most of the children submitted without protest to having their chests bared and ,"listened-in” to, their muscles felt and their teeth examined, and they walked about the room for the doctor to observe their feet and legs. Health authorities are noting great improvement in the teeth of young children, caused in part by better feeding and because parents are urged to enrol children at free dental clinics by the time they are two and a half, so that they may be seen about three years. This early checking is resulting In less dental caries in school-aged children. To give advice about footwear is another important function of the medical officer. One or two small children seen yesterday were inclined to turn their ankles in or walk over on their shoes. Corrective footwear is advised in these cases so that flat feet and incorrect walking cannot develop. “Let her go bare-footed as much as possible on sand, grass and gravel; get her to walk on tip toes and pick up -things with her toes,”, the mother of a'small girl whose feet needed strengthening was told. The youngster chuckled when told to use her toes like a monkey and try grasping objects with them.

One of the most important things for children—almost more important than food—said the medical officer, was adequate rest and sleep. Lack of it is frequently overlooked by parents whose children may be “scratchy,” poor eaters, petulant or listless. Enough rest for children during the day and plenty of sleep at night medical officers said, was a panacea for many of the minor ailments of toddlers. This is not always easy with family life bringing father home about the child’s bed time. The compromise of having the child ready in its dressing gown so that bed came right after play-time with father Was suggested. Exciting play and over-stimulation at bed time should be avoided for it can have injurious effects on small children. Management Problems Some young mothers with crying children who were extremely agitated throughout their examinations were given tips on managing their children. “You are the only ones who have cried, the only naughty ones here,” an upset mother told her children. The doctor explained that it was better for her children to expel their valid fears of a strange doctor by crying it out, than to be encouraged to bottle up their feelings and be made to feel they were the bad children of the group. The personal history of each child was recorded on a card so that comprehensive details on his health, innoculations, immunisations, and when applicable, defects and their correction, pass with him into kindergarten and school life and can be followed up.