ABOUT CHILD WELFARE

White Ribbon, Volume 18, Issue 4, 1 May 1946, Page 7

ABOUT CHILD WELFARE

!n connection with the study of the prison system, and its aims in regard to the lessening of crime, the statement is often made that the actual prevention of crime should be the leading idea in all work done; and that childhood is the time in which such 1 elp and guidance as will tend to keep the growing child in the path of right 'h* uld be available. It is recognised by students of the question that the most vitally important thing is the training of the c 'l'ild. Home atmosphere and environ-

merit play an enormous part in the development of his attitude towards society. And it is a lamentable thing that so many homes are exercising just the wrong kind of, influence on the poor children being brought up in them. A wrong adjustment between the narents, with the consequent unrest, bickering, and sometimes wotsc things, is enough to produce effects in the hidden mental life of the child that may lead him to strange acts of delinquency at an early age. The separation of parents, the shocks to the

child of having the very roots of his faith in his mother or father torn away, and other similar conditions, for which he is in no way responsible, are causes for grief and anxiety to all who care for and seek to help the delinquent child. It is a matter for gratitude that our Child Welfare Department reports a considerable decrease in the figures for child delinquency for the past year. From a statement prepared by Mr. J. I-'. McClune, whose retirement after a very long period as Superintendent of the Department has just taken place, we learn that “there are several factors which may help to account for the present position. There has been a les-ening of war tension and an increase in the number of fathers returned to their homes; visiting teachers ha' e been working in seven centres in co-operation with the schools and the Child Welfare Branch for about two % years; and, in addition, the preventive work of the branch has been broadened and intensified. This year’s figures indicate, I hope, a returning to more normal conditions.”

In an interview Mr. McClune said aKo: “An increasing number of parents were applying to the district officers for advice or guidance w’ith their children. In cases of special difficulty, use was made of the clinics which existed in several centres. . . . The preventive side of child welfare work gains very little publicity, but its value to the community cannot be overstated. It aims at preserving the ties of family life, at solving behaviour problems, and correcting delinquent tendencies in children without recourse to the courts or to institutions, at assisting parents with their domestic problems, and generally at dealing with all phases of children’s well-being, physical, mental and moral. In ray opinion, the work for the future should he still further extended along these preventive lines, with a progressive policy of child guidance, and not centred around courts, where action should only be taken as a last resort.” As so many of our members are Honorary Child Welfare Officers, it may be of interest to others to know that their work is very well in line with our W.C.T.U. slogan: “For God, Home and Humanity.”