TALKS ON HEALTH

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 84, Issue 16, 19 January 1940, Page 3

TALKS ON HEALTH

THE DULL CHILD Children differ in the degree of intelligence. We all know sharp, precocious children and dull children. If a child is dull and is always at the bottom of the class, an attempt mus* be made to discover the cause, ft is a wicked thing to punish a child for some defect which he cannot help; it would be more lagical to punish the parents, school teacher, or doctor who had failed to find out that something was wrong.. If a little boy is deaf and can only hear a part of what the teacher says he cannot be expected to be on the same level as the other children. He may be very intelligent, but suffers from adenoids which block up the hearing apparatus. If a careful examination has been made and it becomes clear that no remediable defect can be adduced Io explain the dullness the problem is then to know what to do for the best. Subjects for Special Care. It is hotter to send him to a special school where the teacher can give' individual attention. When the boy leaves school he should be sent to some institution where he can be taken care of and given suitable work. , These children who are deficient in ; common sense and are yet not bad ' enough to be classed as insane are 1 a source of great anxiety. If left, tn j make their own w-ay in the world, l they always get into trouble. How j often you read of a case in the courts j w here the prisoner is found guilty, but I is detained for Ihe condition of his i mind to be enquired into before he is! punished. Benefit of Control. It is unfair to leave these young ; people to fight the battle of life w hen they are not provided with the mental ■ equipment that will enable them to j struggle against difficulty and temptation. It is worse with the female ‘ sex than with the male.. This is al land of liberty, but no one wants to I give a mentally deficient girl liberty i to go downhill to misery and disease. ’ The wise and ordered discipline of an , institution will give the young people; protection from themselves and their, perverted ideas, they will bo well fed . and kept clean, and given such cm- ; ployment as they are cabable of doing. ! It is much cheaper in the end to keep , these cases under control than to let , them run wild and become thieves l and vagabonds. A Serious Problem. We do not want these mentally de- , ficient people to breed their fike. There are quite enough human pro- , blems to deal with without having an army of idiots and semi-insane men and women complicating matters. The , proper way to deal with insanity is to ; cut it off at the supply. It is misery ; to the babies to be born of mentally; defective parents; it is misery to the ■ babies when they are grown up to ; have to struggle in the streets for their living; it is misery for the police I and magistrates and prison doctors to i have to deal with them; and it is j misery for the taxpayer to have to ■ provide for a hundred thousand defer-1 tive children when he has hard work ; to find bread and butter and milk for i his own little lot. A Word to Woincn. ; 1 do hope women especially will

tackle this question. It ought not to i be beyond their wit to devise a scheme ! Io deal with mentally deficient girls j and boys. I will not have them run-; ning about the streets, and I will not I have them becoming fathers and! mothers and reproducing their horrid kind. Mercy they shall have, love they shall have, but not liberty liberty to make our country les.(pleasant to live in. Religious Mania. The best antidote for religious 'mania is free social intercourse with wholesome minded young people. The girl who is beginning to brood over (religious books and dismally to claim |that she is a lost soul must be packed , ioff to a jolly picnic with other young people of both sexes. A sound religion should form the basis of everyone's 'mind, but it is a bad sign when re- : jJigion makes a young girl melancholy. (Religion should be a thing of hope and i courage, not of gloom and despair. The duty rests with the parents to (guide their daughter's mind. The Parents’ Part. ; It may bo necessary to take away (all her religious books for the time, i being. Let her go for walks in the (fields and get thoroughly tired, so that she sleeps well at. night and does no’ Jay awake brooding over the condition (of her soul. It is all a question ol i degree. Everyone has something' wrong with his si.ul, except, of course i ; doctors; and that man is a poor croa-i I lure w ho never feels within him a 1 idesire to be a better man. But. I can-: • not allow depression and religion to. i go hand in hand. Good parent.-,' (hearken to the words of wisdom; you , ■are to deal with the early stages of! melancholia at once without waiting; (for further developments, and you i must, act boldly and with a firm hand. I : i Hobbies for Boys. ; Mothers, one of your most import-; ;ant duties is to sec that, your boys arc I never left idle, wandering about with (nothing to do. They will get into mis- I !chief, and perhaps something wor.-’ I (than mischief, if you do not keep them ' 'occupied. You must devise all sorts of | moans to give them a healthy interest i in life. Let their leisure hours be well ! (filled up with hobbies and pastimes.' .Encourage your boys to go in for, (every game that makes them mo\ ■ (about; outdoor exercise is lhe best 'way for a boy to lot off his superfluous i energy. Let him join the Scouts, lot] ihim join the local band and learn lo( 'play an instrument. Buy him a! i camera or a bicycle, or show him how Jo start, collecting stamps or butterflies. Bive him a box of paints, a fretIsaw, or a box of tools; lot him build (a kennel] for his dog or a hutch for his rabbits or guinea-pigs. Study your own boy and see what his likes and dislikes arc, and encourage all his good natural tendencies. But if you ■want him to be healthy, to be a credit (to his mother and the pride of his father, keep him from idleness and ■ loafing. Find the Cause. i When a lump appears at the side of ;the neck or under the jaws, it is gen- | i erally an enlarged lymphatic gland. 1 and some cause must be sought to 'account for it. A sore place on the ; head or neck may be the origin of the I infection, or inside the mouth there (may be a decayed tooth with an abscess at the bottom of it. A discharging car, again, may be responsible for 'it. and another common cause is an enlarged tonsil. So you see, the

proper treatment is not so much to apply remedies to the lump itself, but to find out the real cause and treat that. Once remove the sore place, th • decayed tooth or the inflamed tonsil, and lhe lump will disappear of its own accord. If you neglect, the lump it will grow larger, and finally soften and turn into an abscess, which will burst uii the face and leave an ugly scat. The Wart Story. Did 1 ever tell you that story about lhe warts? Warts are rather mysterious things. No one knows for certain why they come; they have a curious habit of suddenly disappearing of th 'ir own accord. I wish I could say I know everything, but I don’t. I don’t know why warts should come and go «> mysteriously. But they do. Weil, one uay 1 was in a playful mood, and I said I would charm away lhe writs an a little girl’s hands. I walked round her muttering some gibberi. a and waving my arms, and solemnly announcing that the warts would h iv' gone in less than a week. And t<uy h a d!