OUR BABIES

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 14 March 1925, Page 17

OUR BABIES

(By Hygeia.)

[Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society).] CHILD-TRAINING. At the third English-speaking Conference on Infant Welfare, which took place in London last year, Sir Maurice Craig, M.D.., gave an excellent address on “Mental Hygiene in Relation to Child-training.” As the lecture has a very direct bearing on the problems with' which we have been dealing, we shall make a few extracts from it. EXTRACTS FROM SIR MAURICE. CRAIG ’ S A DDR ESS.

“Medicine is becoming much more prophylactic in its tendencies that is, we try to prevent disease, because we are beginning to appreciate that we cannot ha certain of re-establishing health once it has been undermined. We find it is much easier to prevent than to. so-calt ‘cure.’ To prevent its not only of benefit to the individual, but it* saves man-power to the nation

“Remember that physical conditions do influence the mind. You are always hearing to-day of the importance of the influence of mind on body. But you must not forget that the converse is equally true and quite as important. When*you come to teach or train children you will find that certain children are retarded in mental development owing to physical disabilities. And yet how frequently this js overlooked. I see children brought to me with blue hands, and they are said to. be very slow-in their mental appreciation and their attention is lacking. Of course, t is because their brain is being badly nourished, and therefore their mind is not active. You must not expect from .he child whose circulation is defective the same mental activity as from .a child who has a good circulation. It you put a strain on a. child who has these blue extremities, you are going in the course of time to bring about mental fatigue and nerve exhaustion, a state which may seriously curtail the activities of its later life. A brilliant .child who has that type of circulation niay start well, and then suddenly tail off. I hold that had such a child been prevented going that pace in early life and all through its early years it would not have tailed off, and indeed it might have improved with years. When you are confronted with "circulatory or bronchial defects, the blood is in a vitiated state, and therefore the nutrition of the body and brain must suffer. In such a case you must not press on with the mental activities.

“There is only one nervous system, whether it is. used for the mind of for the body. That is often forgotten. A child with its plastic growing nervous system is much more easily disturbed and damaged than an adult. Infinite harm may l be done in a comparatively short space of time with the child, whereas with the adult there is greater resistance to pernicious influences.

Sleep. “There is one oilier point to which I must refer on the physical side, and that is the question of sleep. I presume that you all know the importance of sleep. If not, give it a. thought. There is nothing so important as sleep. The physiologist will tell you that that is the only method by which tissues are repaired, by which the functions or organs are restored. Do away with sleep, and you do away with that most important repairing process. That is why a person suffering from sleeplessness keeps, as a rule, on a very low level of health. At one time a child may sleep well; and at another time it may not, and you must not leave any' stone unturned to see that it does get sleep. It is unwise to continue serious education until sleep is re-established. If the child does not. sleep teaching must be stopped. “Inquire after and watch the sleep of a. child as you would its digestion, if you wish it in good health. Sleep of good quality is of infinite importance —not defective and restless sleep. Some chijdren are easily disturbed. Take two children sleeping in the same room. The one will go off to sleep directly it goes to bed and begin to breathe heavily; ihe other is distrbed and does* not sleep. You must watch and observe things,' and move that child from such a pernicious influence, of which the child may never complain. It is essential for the parent or educationist to lay himself out. to discover why the child does not sleep. It •is your duty to find out what is wrong and nut the matter right, you may think these are trivial matters; you may think the child has to learn to sleep and ought to sleep. The person who says a child lias to learn.to do .his and that has no imagination, no knowledge of mind, and no knowledge of the damage that can be done to mind by what the child may he suffering. And remember that sleeplessness will not interfere merely with mental; efficiency, l>ut with functions of the body and the organic side of life. Gesture Language.

“That is the physical aspect, but I want you to remember that physical •conditions are important, and that you can exhaust the nervous system quite 'as much physically as mentally. When dealing with very highly-strung children it is necessary to be careful if they are good both at games and at work. A child will only begin gradually to show the defects or the' signs of ' deterioration. Always watch, and do so very carefully. 1 must remind you that it is not what the child says that necessarily matters, but it is the gesture and conduct and manner of the child that is infinitely more important. Gesture language tells' more than spoken language. The child will often cover up its’ defects because it is ashamed of them. Hut gesture language will tell you; that fine, muscle-reading Which is a reflection of the mind, and is the outward manifestation of mind; in fact, that is the only true language one has to guide one. A person may say one' kind of thing, but gesture may tell another, and the latter is more likely (o be true.” Next week wo shall see what Sir Maurice Crn ig has to say with regard to the child’s mind. "