CHILD WELFARE.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18419, 27 June 1925, Page 18

CHILD WELFARE.

LECTURE BY DR. G. J. BLACKMORE. An address on the "Welfare of the Quid" was delivered to the Home Economies Association by Dr. G. J. Blackmoro in the Masonic-. Hall last evening. Mis G. Cooper presided over a very largo attendance. In the course of his address, Dr. Blackmore stressed the training of the child as it concerned the welfare of the adult. There were two great features in the rearing ot the child. The li.-st was its education, and the second the care of its health. The lecturer, in touching on education, stressed the necessity of placing the child in healthv suTroundings. Ho drew "attention to the necessity for sunlight and frc»h air in education, and referred to the cases of the Fendalton and East Christchurch Schools. In these cases tlie:e wa.s congestion, an! the class-rooms were unsuitable. People might say that these schools were old ones, and would, in time, Ik> replaced, but, Dr. Blackmore contended, in the meantime they wore causing the death of a number of children. He then proceeded to illustrate bv means of lantern slide? the value of fresh a.ir and sunlight in the treatment, of disease.

Speaking on the subject of foo:l, the lecturer stated that the present wa.s the age of artificial foods, many of which were robbed of their most nourishing properties. The lack of these properties was believed to be responsible for many of the. diseases of the present day, such as gastric troubles, dental trouble, and that most d:-ead disease, cancer. Referring to vegetarian diets, the. speaker said that in many cases people living on these foods were in perfect health, and lived to a green old age. He urged parents, however, to sec that their children had plenty of butter, eges, and milk, even if they were b"ought up on a. vegetarian diet so far as other foods were concerned. Investigations had shown that we could not afford to play tricks with our food. We had our foods so refined that most of the vitamines wore eliminated from them, and for such elimination we were forced to pay—then we gr.-owled about the high price of living." Dr. Blackmore pointed out the importance in a child's diet of butter-fat and milk. . He said bo could not stress sufficiently the importance of seeing that milk was free from tubercular infection. In conclusion, be stated that the best articles of diet for a child were milk, cream, butter, 6ggs, leafy vegetables, fresh fniit, and then wholemeal bread. There was far too much moat eaten, he said, and .we did not eat the best parts of it. The kidneys, liver, and braips, etc., contained properties which wore very beneficial to us, and they certainly should be used. Wholemeal i*-ead, too, formed a very important part of diet, and proved of mo~e value than for food alone. He wished to enter a plea to parents- not to put too much clothing on a child, and, especially not *to hang too much on its shoulders. This tended to produce round shoulders. The women of the present day showed how little clothing could cover, or at least partially cover, tho human frame, and he was glad to see that women were recognising; this fact for the benefit of their children.