HEALTH AND THE CHILD

Evening Post, Volume XCIII, Issue 95, 21 April 1917, Page 9

HEALTH AND THE CHILD

WHAT THE STATE IS DOING

A GOAL TO BE STRIVEN FOR

Few people are in better position to speak with regard to the health of school children than Dr. Ada Baterson, Medical Inspector of Schools, whose work carries her into the centre of school life and environment. Of special interest, therefore, was Dr. Paterson's lecture delivered in the Concert Chamber of the Town Hall last evening, under the auspices of the Wellington Women Teachers' Association. Miss P. Myers occupied the chair.

Taking for her subject "The Physical Condition of School Children," Dr. Paterson said that the object of education was to allow children to enter the battle of ■ life physically spund, with min^s clear and nerves steady, and with a high sense of duty in the management both of their own affairs and those of the Stale. That being so, it was of value to note the quality of the raw material of citizenship which filled fhe benches of the school room. Nature had provided a handicap for some children ; the conditions of life had done so for others. The lecturer referred' tc character of the home, the character of the parents, the ambitions they possessed, the material benefits they oould provide, the quantity and quality of the food and clothing, the | amount of air space in bedrooms, the length of sleeping time, and the dei mand of workiand amusement. AH these factors were moulding the child and making the foundation upon which schools had to build. Thus it was evident that fpr the correction of many defects in school children the intelligent cooperation of the parents -was essential. In 1870 the Education Act v.-aB passed, making school attendance compulsory. Such was the general condition of school children prior to this that much of the teaching was wasted. A largo proportion of pupils were found to be physically unfit to receive knowledge. They came 1 to school half clad, underfed, or handicapped by defects sudh as deafness, weak eyesight, or constituticnal weakness. Stupidity and laziness were ascribed to children who .would have been under happier conditions able and willing to learn. IGNORANCE AND INDIFFERENCE.

In New Zealand we had a good opportunity for controlling the health of the children. We were comparatively unhampered by poverty, though as everywhere we were held back by ignorance and indifference. Individual instances were quoted by the lecturer to show the general condition of the children at schools visited by her Attention to detail, she eaid, such as cleaning of teeth, hands, and finger-nails, was often insufficient. Verminous conditions 'of the body were rare. Pediculosis capitis was much more frequent, probably about 4 per cent. In many schools this evil was -non-existent—in others :it was .'a plague. Many teachers deserved great credit for their efforts to eradicate this condition by constant supervision and instruction. The difficulty was that the worst cases often came from infected homes, where treatment was regarded as superfluous and re-infection readily occurred. Clothing was as a rule fairly clean and sufficient. The usual school dress for girls lacked simplicity and limited movement. The adoption of a gymnastic costume, modified of necessity for street wear, would be an advantage. There was room for great improvement as Tegards .footwear. Nutrition was good or normal in 84.6 per cent, ot cases: il was satisfactory or bad in 15.2 per cent. ■

TOWN, AND < COUNTRY CHILDREN

The worst cases of malnutrition came as a 1 rule either from slum areas in town or remote districts in the country. Some of the causes were poverty, ignorance, neglect or apathy on the part of parents. Undesirable city conditions were generally recognised factors, but it .was popular fiction that the country child 'was necessarily possessed of superior advantages. Purer air by day it might obtain, but among the struggling population of the backblocks houses were often jpoor and cramped, with sanitation nonexistent. . Food was monotonous in character and hurriedly or badly cooked. The lecturer very strongly advocated the taking of hot cocoa by school children at lunch time! She instanced a case where this had been tried with conspicuous success.

TO AVOID SPREAD OF DISEASE.

Regarding the spread of disease, Cr. Paterson said that, as far as possible, school apparatus should not be transferred from one child to the other. The use of single or dual desks was a great advantage. School towels should be abolished. They were . generally dirty and infrequently renewed. Unless each child had his own towel he was better without. Obstructed breathing, as from I adernoids and enlarged tonsils, occurred i in large numbers, as did defective teeth. | The improvement in intelligence and in physical development when the respiratj ory passages were cleared was most marked. Other defects referred to by ' the speaker as existing irj varying degrees were enlarged glands,' external eye , disease, defective vision, external ear disease, defective hearing, and defective speech. The latter was found to a greater extent among boys than among girls. Mental defectives and nervous children were touched on, the speaker stating that the child suffering from a grave type of nervous disease was not found in the schools unless in the case of epileptics. Children prone to epileptic attacks should not be educated in the public schools, for their own sake and that of other children. Physical deformity occurred in a large proportion of children, and a small number of children affected were being dealt with in corrective classes with conspicuous success. It was imperative that all childrsn should receive more physical exercise. FIRST CONSIDERATION. "Think of the large number of children who never attain their maximum of well-being and efficiency!" said the j speaker. , "Consider, too, how much more educational energy must be worse than wasted under present conditions! Would it not be better before; teaching a child to read toi be sure that he sees and breathes properly ? \Vould it not be better before teaching him drawing and brush, work to be sure that he can correctly perform the elementary acts of walking and sitting? Is it not of first importance that a child be in good health . . . Let us not consider whether the knowledge a child gets is of worth. ! Let us take Herbert Spencer's sugges- ■ tion and consider its relative worth . . . j Let us hope then to see this most important branch of education given a worthy place in the first rank *. . . We do well if we realise what is our goal, and strive our best to approach it."

At the conclusion of the lecture, Dr. Paterson answered several questions, and was accorded a hearty vote of thanks.