CHILD WELFARE IN WARTIME

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 17, 15 October 1942, Page 4

CHILD WELFARE IN WARTIME

With so many mothers now engaged in war work the supervision and care of young children after school hours has become a problem which has been engaging official attention for some time past. The latest report on the subject indicates that some progress has been made in working out plans of a practical scheme for occupying the interests and activities of children whose parents are unable to give the time and attention to those leisure hours after school during which young people are apt to get out of hand and drift into undesirable habits. As is pointed out in the report, between 10 and 27 per cent, of the children attending the Wellington and Hutt Valley schools have parents both of whom are working, and of these children 60 per cent, are of the age of nine or over, with little or no provision for their care out of school hours.

The danger may be that if satisfactory provision for their supervision is lacking, the graver problem of juvenile delinquency which has given concern in recent years may become accentuated by a deterioration in discipline among children whose characters and habits hitherto have given no cause for anxiety. Obviously, therefore, the supervision to be provided should be systematic and thorough. According to the report the Education- Department has undertaken to appoint a full-time organizer, and, if necessary, to make buildings and grounds available. Beyond this the outline sketched of the plans in view is somewhat vague. The Director of Education, Dr. Beeby, says that his primary concern is the child of school age. .It will be agreed, however, that the period of adolescence, the most critical of all, is likely to prove the crux of the whole problem.

One question that arises is the basis of attendance at the varieties of child and youth centres which have been mentioned in the report. Is it to be voluntary or compulsory? If voluntary, it is possible that a proportion of young people whose interest has not been captured and held may fall off in attendance and run loose. It is this class of youngster which is likely to give most trouble. If compulsory, parents wilt naturally be critical of the arrangements made for the supervision of their children, and of the kind of occupations provided for engaging their interests and activities. More detailed information will be required before judgment upon the merits of the scheme can be possible. The problem is a very difficult one.-