OUR BABIES.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 19201, 15 October 1930, Page 10

OUR BABIES.

By HTGEIA. PTiblislxed under the auspices of the Royal Few Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Blxmlcet Society). r “ It is wiser to put up a fence at the top of a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom.” THE CHARASTERISATION OF MENTAL HEALTH. The following summary is the conclusion of our extracts from Dr Arnold Gesell’s paper on mental hygiene:— “What, then, are the mental health characteristics of the y-oung child? In summary they are as follows: “1. Wholesome habits of eating and sleeping, of relaxation, and of elimination. These are often regarded as ‘purely physical’ matters. Actually, they are of basic psychological import ance. They are way-s of living; they require a proper organisation of the nervous system.. The child who .is not well trained in these everyday habits has not learned even the first letters of the alphabet of nervous or mental health. Wholesome habits of feeling.- Here again we deal with the organisation of the nervous system. Mental hygiene is much concerned with the organisation of the emotional life. Happily, the feelings respond to training. It is all wrong to think that temper tantrums, morbid fears, timidity, jealousy, sensitiveness, suspiciousness, and other unhealthy mental states are beyond control.

“The thoroughly normal child has ■ positive emotional habitations which ; make for good' nature, for sociability, for seit-control, and even a measure of sympathy and co-operativeness. Con- ■ sistent training and a favourable home { atmosphere bring him under the spell of socialised goodwill. Through praise ; rather than scolding, through encouragement rather than domination, through happiness rather than failure, he acquires an elementary optimistic philosophy of life. He acquires also a sense of security- which is very irrpor-.ant for his health of mind. “In this way* lie may also acquire a ■ philosophic sense of humour, which can be set down as one of the prime essentials of normal mental health This sense of humour will serve him , well, even as a child, and still more as an adult. “3. Healthy attitude of action. Selfreliance is a cardinal virtue in the code of mental health. Growing up in the psychological sense means attaining sufficient stamina to meet the demanda of life squarely on one’s own resources ? It is a steady process of detachment—! first from the apron strings, later from I the home itself. Build Fibre. “Just as the grown-up soldier needs morale to stand the test of battle, so the young child needs a kind of selfreliance which will enable him to meet the realities and discomforts of life. The ability to see reality- is, of course, a mark of mental health. Therefore, the wise parent from the beginning builds fibre as well as happiness into the child’s mind. “Normality of mind can therefore be formulated in terms of—; (1) Wholesome personal habits of living. • (2) Wholesome habits of * feeling, and (3) Healthy attitudes of action. “Although these are broad specifications, it is apparent that they- may be made very concrete in actual application. The goal of mental hygiene . ceases to bo nebulous when we make a genuine attempt to realise it in terms , of child guidance and parent guidance.” d ©OS EE @S3 JUOE Eg gj EE gS@3 ®@o

. Occasion was taken on Monday evenr ing by- the Christchurch staff of the ” National Mutual Life Association to make a presentation to Mr C. E. Baxter. Mr Baxter, who represents the 2 association on the West Coast, is to ’’ be married shortly. The presentation ■ took the form of a silver coffee pot suitably inscribed.