WERE CHILDREN HEALTHIER IN THE “GOOD OLD DAYS?”

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 December 1950, Page 10

WERE CHILDREN HEALTHIER IN THE “GOOD OLD DAYS?”

Children were healthier mentally and emotionally 80 years ago, although in those days they were often undernourished and by modern standards received little attention, a woman psychologist believes. . Miss Marjory Brown lecturer in psychology at Durham University’s King’s College, Newcastle-on-Tyne, told delegates of the Women Public Health Officers’ Association at Durham of the “good old days” of childhood.

She said: “Children are physically better off now than they were in the old days, when they were often left in the same clothing for months and washing was ’ considered dangerous. “But in those old days the child was left to grow up with its brothers and sisters and learn for itself.

“Feeding was timed by the needs of the. child, instead of being ruled by the clock. “Because of the trend towards smaller families there is a presentday tendency for the child to be fussed over.

“Parents are too fond of telling children ‘don’t touch,’ but the character of a child can be affected if he grows up without freedom to feel or touch things in early days. “The standard of living has risen. Housewives vie with each other for a nice house—and nice houses and babies do not always go together.” Miss Brown gave present-day parents three “musts” for the rearing of a mentally healthy child: Love—“which does not mean coddliing”—a feeling of security, and an opportunity for the child to express its feelings.