Under Fed

Dominion, Volume 30, Issue 65, 10 December 1936, Page 7

Under Fed

Malnutrition Is Hard To Detect IT is unfortunately true that slight degrees of malnutrition pass unnoticed in many small children. Nobody thinks very much about the children who are simply “a bit below par. Yet is most important that parents and others should know the signs indicating that a child is malnourished, and should be alert to seek advice and apply it at once. . . ~ An undernourished child is usually below the standard weight for his age and height. He does not gain in weight as he should and is more or less soft end flabby. His appetite is usually poor or erratic, and he is “finicky about Lis food, habitually refusing certain articles of diet—usually some of those necessary for . good health, like, milk or vegetables. He gets tired easily, is inclined to be listless, has dark rings under his eyes, and stands badly. He is rather fretful or nervous, and is ‘ whiney” without apparent cause. He 1 ticks that indefinable air of joyous elasticity and buoyancy which is characteristic of the perfectly healthy small child. It cannot be over-emphasised that the child who drifts along through the pie-school period in this condition, enters the rough-and-tumble and the competition of school life handicapped. Unless something is done to remove the causes of bis poor condition, the chances ai;e that tie will emerge from school days still handicapped for the battle of adult life. Earnest examination of the child’s habits and environment rarely fails to reveal- the cause or causes of malnutrition. Regular periodical Inspection by a trained person is the greatest possible help and protection to the health of the pre-school child, for prevention is infinitely better than cure. Piunket nurses are qualified to supervise the progress of the children up to school age. They are as interested in the “ex-baby” as in the baby; but the final responsibility rests with the parents. Don't think that because baby’s “baby days” are past, there is no need for supervision. There is a normal rate of growth for this pre-school per:<(i, and skilled supervision and help are available for all who desire to do the best for the growing child.

Do not let more than six months elapse before taking the child for examination. By doing this a check may be kept on progress, slight departures from the normal may be noted in the early stages, and general advice may lie given and discussed. If this rule were generally observed by parents all over the country there would be as many ■'beautiful run-abouts” as “beautiful babies,” and we should not have that sadly common “falling off in the second and third years.—N’.Z. Piunket Society.