DOMESTIC SCIENCE

Waikato Times, Volume 88, Issue 13644, 26 November 1917, Page 3

DOMESTIC SCIENCE

MR. LLOYD GEORGE'S ADVICE. Mr Lloyd George, in a letter to The Times, appeals to parents to devote more attention to the teaching of domestic science. "Among the many branches of educational work, none has deserved better of the public at large than that of domestic science. It is helping in this time of- crisis in every conceivable way, and has penetrated into every stratum of society. On the women of this country no less than on the men is laid the necessity of fighting enemies of stern stuff—in the case of the woman, want and hunger for themselves and their children, unless scientific knowledge is brought to bear on the question. The various food campaigns organised all over the country have done much to open the eyes of the people to shortage of food and the national e"ffect of ignorance in cooking; but the trained people who are wanted to present the truth in a convincing and incontrovable way are comparatively few in number, and many have been lent by education authorities to other departments requiring help in practical food questions. I would ask parents who are weighing, the future of their daughters to consider whether they could not usefully be trained for such work. Work in offices and banks, labour of all sorts (most of it of a transitory nature) are deflecting into blind alley occupations the girls on whom the educational future of the children depends. There is no one to sound the alarm. The terrible mortality of infants and children due to improper feeding is a scandal to our civilisation, and could be minimised if knowledge of this important branch of education were more widespread."