HEALTH OF CHILDREN.

Northern Advocate, 10 September 1920, Page 6

HEALTH OF CHILDREN.

liiliX-Oitib i'iiiUM THE SCHOOLS.

-it goes witiiout saying that the commojieit pnysical deiect ±oun;i among scnool cnilciren is dental disease/ says the Director oi Jiictuca[jon in nis annual report. "As a resuu oi tne scnool meuical inspection scneme, wmcn includes no provision ior treatment, a very marked improvement is reported in tne condition ox and attention given to tne teeth oi cnildren in tne town schools. vi tne country districts, norwever, wiiere there are practicany no iaeilities ior oDtaining dental treatment,. vie iiotmcationes of tne school medicai orncer can Joe of little avail. A emei scnool dental officer has now oeen appointed, who is at present inaugurating a scheme ior providing uental treatment lor children otherwise unable to obtain it, and when tnis system is in operation a great advance will have been made in tne worK of maintaining the physical fitness oi our iboys and girls. "'JMext to dental disease, defects of the nose, throat, ear, and eye are the .most common found among school children. In the country districts again, great difficulty is experienced in ootaming the necessary medical treatment, this lack of opportunity hindering the greater effectiveness of tne worK of the me«cal inspection, it will be necessary for some solution o.t the diiliculty to be sought in the near future.

"Wnile further provision for treatment is required, tne most important need is the prevention of disease. It may be sateJy said that tne causes of tiie commonest, and at the same time me most serious defects in children are known,and that the removal is practicable. Before the children encer upon their school life the seeds of the evil have often already been sown, and supervision of the health of children during the pre-school period is now urged as being o£ even greater nnportance than supervision during school life. A wide extension oi sue/I work as is done .by the Plunitet Society during the period of infancy, supervision during the intervening pre-schooi period, and a general linking-up of this work with the school medical system are suggested as the steps' that should be taken in the attempt to prevent physical defects, often difficult to cure at a late stage. Much, it is submitted, can also be done by educating parents in matters relating to the health of their children,"