HEALTH NOTES

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 11, 13 July 1931, Page 14

HEALTH NOTES

PEE-SCHOOL CHILD

PARENTS' DUTY

(Contributed by the Department of Health.) I. Mutters concerning the health and well-being, the care and. training of the pro-school child, should be of peculiar interest to parents, for during this period from 2 to 5 years, the teaching and fostering of healthyhabits of body and,of mind, that is to say, the early education of the little \ child, is entirely in the Jiands of- the parent. It is often assumed that education begins at school. Nothing could be further from the truth. A child's first teachers are its parents, and the pre-sehool age should bo considered as a ;iimo for continuous preparation, so that when the moment arrives for his plunge into the tremendous world of school life, the child may have.a sound and healthy body, a reserve' of mental and nervous energy, and shall have been adequately trained in self-care, that ho may feel independent in all matters immediately concerning himself. One author states the above idea very well when, he says that a child "should graduate into the school." '-* How should this preparation period be used in order to give a child a sound and healthy body and mind, for to-day it, is a commonplace ' to state that body and mind are inseparable? The ordinary daily requirements of food and rest, fresh air, and exercise arc fundamental. BEGARDING MEALS. •■ At this stage a child is rapidly growing and needs adequate nourishment. The body must not be deprived of its necessary supplies either by an illbalanced diet or by mismanagement of thci meals. . , ' "; ■ ■ ■• To supply a well-balanced diet to a child is, however, only part of the food question. . One can lead the horse to a meal, but ono cannot necessarily make'1 him eat it. "Learning to eat" is one of the important, lessons of this earlier education. The best of feeding, badly managed, is quito as harmfulas an ill-balanced diet. The digestive system is so influenced by the state of the nervous system that it is very important for, the child to come to the tabie in a happy, placid, and cooperative frame of mind. This can often be gained by the observance of such small details as: (1) Having definite and punctual1 meal times, so that to feel hungry and'to have the hunger, satisfied at a definite time bedomes a' habit. Tho appetite often goes when one is kept waiting for food. (2) Calling the children before tho meal is served so that they may have a. few minutes' rest, some of which may be employed by washing the hands and brushing Iho hair. (3) By creating an interest in the meal times, and especially by avoiding over-anxiety over the eating of Ihc meal. The average child, if left alone, will oat his meals as a matter of course. Even with a new article of diet to attempt, after one or two false starts ho will usually adopt it inio the bill of faro without question. Urging or pressing on tho part of t!ic mother will probably spoil the result. , In children's camps, the writer has never found a child who, after the1 first few days, would not cat any food placed bcfoie it, probably becauso no ono cared whether ho a)o it or not, and because all the children round him ivcro eating their portion without question. _ BEST. Adequafc rest is essential for all children, but is even more important at this age, owing to, the immaturity of tho nervous system, also to its rapid growth. Though the. body of a six-year-old is much below the adult's height, the brain at this age has almost reached ihe weight of an adult's. "Simplify the life of the child" is a good rule to follow in these complicated days. Lack of sufficient rest and sleep is often tho cause of failure of management in general and meals in particular. The child is irritable and exhausted, apart from the bad effects upon tho digestive organs. Nothing should interfere with the bedtime hour, and it should bo remembered that an extra hour in bed in tho morning does not compensate for the loss of an hour in the evening. Tho midday sleep should bo continued as long as it does not intcrfero with the rest at night. This sleep should be for a definito period, and should begin and' cud at a certain fixed hour. When tho sleep has to bo given up, a short period of rest, and relaxation is of great value, especially if the child tends to be fatigued and difficult at meal times. With regard to clothing, what applies to all -children' applies to this group also, i.e., that clothing should bo loose and light as well as warm, and that tho legs and thighs should be adequately covered in cold weather. A younger child will also require more and warmer clothing than an older child ' whp plays vigorously. SOCIAL. EDUCATION. The responsibility rests , with v the parents, therefore, not only' to supplyessential materials and a suitable environment for the maintenance of health and growth, but also to train and educate ; tho child in healthy habits of mind and body. Not least of these latter is i tho training in independence and self-care, and it is in this direction that the pre-school education is so often most lamentably neglected. Considerably more than 50 per cent, of children enter the primary school and commence to climb tho steep hill of academic learning without the veriest elements, of* social education. The majority of infant mistresses will tell one that the first three toj. four months of the school year has to be spent in. teaching children the elements' of dressing and washing, earo of and tidiness with these possessions, which should form part Of the pre-school education. Long before the time has conic for entrance to school, every normal child should be perfectly adept in putting on his own clothes aud boots and under-, taking the tasks of washing and cleaning teeth, care of his nails and hair, with only the minimum amount of assistance from others. Nevertheless, at the first medical examination which takes placo when they enter school the majority of children have not the slightest idea of how to attack the problem of putting on their own clothes. IMPORTANCE OF NURSERY SCHOOL. Another important branch of the pre-school education is the necessity for learning what is called in rather "high-flown" terms "adjustment to tho group," which means that a child must learn to adapt himself: to other people round him, and that as well as learning care for himself he must learn and appreciate . the rights of other people living with him. The care of common property is excellent training from this - point of viewbringing in the, milk bottle, putting away tho newspapers are very simple tasks that could not bo said to tax cither a small child's brain or his physical capacity, but these and similar simple tasks which are innumerable in any home give bim a sense of responsibility and achievement and independence —a feeling of being necessary and serviceable, which will be of the greatest value to him in his later education.

At first his -circle of acquaintances

[consists of the family only. During I Uls pre-school career tiicro .should bo, j however, a gradual widening of his contacts with others, especially with other children. A child whose mother says of him, "Of course, he 'has always been with me —I have never allowed him to play with other children," lias a hard time ahead of him in his first school year; In this matter of gradual 'contact with the world, the nursery school or' kindergarten is of immense value as a half-way - house between home and the school life. PREVENTION OF DISEASE. Dental treatment should be obtained early—periodical visits to the dentist so that the milk jteoth may bo preserved are essential. "Baby teeth" need homo care and the dentist's care just as much as the permanent. A sound mouth has much to do with the prevention of throat, nose, and ear troubles, as well as digestive upsets. If tonsil or adenoid affection is suspected, advice should be obtained early—in mild cases operation may be avoided by careful treatment. ." Susceptibility to infectious disease, such as feverish colds, measles, chick-' enpox, whooping cough, is one of the unfortunate characteristics of the first school year, especially in the child whose early life has been limited to the home circle.! A child brought up in a slum is usually immune to most infections; a child reared, in an exclusive home environment is virgin soil for germs, and the first year at school is usually rather a rocky t road for him. He has probably never had a day's illness until he comes to school, and the parent is 'often rather aggrieved that her healthy child should be so susceptible. A certain degree of gradual immunisation- may be obtained by tho progressive widening of his environment and the circle of his companions. Even so, the average 5-year-old's first school year is often a series of colds and, other minor ailments which no care or treatment appears able to avoid, and the only consolation to the parent is that this is a temporary state of affairs which, is usually soon over. ,

If tho education of the pre-school child has been thorough and successful, the day he goes to school his mother should, bo able to say to herself:, "My child is physically and mentally healthy, his body is straight and strong, he sees and hears well, his teeth are sound and well kept, his nose and throat are in a healthy condition, he has good habits of eating and sleeping; he is independent of outside assistance.in looking after his possessions and in self-care generally, he is self-reliant, will adapt, himself to this new life' without my help, and; he is ready and anxious to * make new friends and playmates."