HEALTH NOTES.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXX, Issue 5457, 5 August 1929, Page 3

HEALTH NOTES.

PRE-SCHOOL CHILD. CARE OF ITS HEALTH. (Contributed by the Department of Health.) "in every work the beginning is the most important, especially in dealing with anything young and tender,” wrote Socrates. There is profound wisdom underlying this observation of the great philosopher, for the health, happiness and efficiency of men and women depend to a large extent upon the care and training during early life, and it is during infancy and childhood that those life habits are formed which are responsible for health, character and personality. . Since so much depends upon our knowledge of the fundamental requirements of early childhood it is most necessary that our attention be drawn to that interesting and important figure, the pre-school child —i.e., the toddler between the age of two and five years. Though the more urgent claims of the baby of the family detract attention from him, we know that the toddler has a mental life as delicate and complex as his physical body, and that his future largely depends upon the provision of proper care and training during this early period of his existence. Early Life. A young child lives a life full of hopes, ambitions, doubts, misgivings, joys, sorrows, and strivings that are being gratified or thwarted in much the same way at three years of age as they will be at thirty. He has certain characteristics that make the acquiring of new habits easy ; he is open to suggestion ; he accepts as correct information from a person he looks up to ; he wants to please those he loves, and he strives to adjust himself to the numerous and varied changes incidental to the early years of life. The responsibility of parents is great, and it is to assist them that various agencies have been established—e.g., ante-natal clinics, Plunket societies, school medical services, etc.

By a systematic supervision beginning during the ante-natal period and continuing throughout infancy and childhood there will be a continuous record of the child’s health and development from before birth to adolence. By care before birth and during infancy the foundation of a healthy life is laid. Not only are we concerned with the production of a perfect child, however, but it is our responsibility to provide for Him a wholesome environment in those early years which make up the critical period of growth and development.

Heredity and Environment. Heredity and environment together nre responsible for the development of every living being. The practical question is, therefore, what may be done to control both so as to secure the best results. Whatever qualities a child inherits from his parents may be modified by his surroundings either to his advantage or disadvantage. It is his parents who make his environment to a large extent, and who most powerfully influence his destiny. Their mental ability, their control of their emotions, their interests, particularly their interests in the child, their ambitions or lack of them, their moral standards —these all in some degree determine what the child shall make out of the endowment that Nature has given him. The home is the workshop in which the character and persornlity are moulded by the formation of habits. It is necessary, therefore, to provide for the whole period of childhood those conditions which are most favourable for the perfect development of body and mind. Such fundamental requirements are sunshine and pure air, food and water, warmth and protection, sleep and re>t, freedom and exercise. A happy jdtnjle and one of the common lessons of everyday experience is that of a plant which grows strong and vigorous and produces a wealth of bloom and fruit when the soil, water, and sunshine are adapted to its requirements. When the conditions are unfavourable it will grow spindly and weak, and produce few or stunted blossoms and fruit. Sunshine, fresh air, and nourishing food are equally essential to the human plant. In short, We put our trust in the big four—Sun, Tood, and Habits, the fundamental requirements of healthy childhood. The Department of Health is striving to reduce diseases not only by sanitation, by a clean milk supply, by the removal of conditions which faeili tate the breeding of disease, but also by the instruction of mothers in the primary essentials of hygienic living. oj?e great purpose of the. .New Zealand ante-natal clinics, the infant welfare centres, and school medical service is to increase popular knowledge along these lines. Parents should javail themselves of these opportunities on behalf of then- children. It is a wejl-known fact that mothers do not necewrily come into the world ready-made, and that the instinct of motherhood is not ©f itself a sufficient (equipment for the satisfactory nurture and upbringing of a family Even the amazing power of self-sacrifice for which mothers are proverbial cannot act aS a substitute for knowledge and training in the essentials of mothercraft. Infectious Diseases. . The modern kindergarten does much valuable work in the interests of the pre-schodi child. In the environment thus provided he lives a life of joyous activity where healthy interest is quickened and energy wisely directed, and where also his body is subjected to a wholesome regime of work and rest and play. .... Modern psychologists lay increasing value upon inculcation of right habits of living and of action at an early age. In the kindergarten school, therefore, as in the home, the foundation of the child’s education is laid. A harmful doctrine held by many mothers is that all children must have The common infectious diseases, and therefore may as well be exposed to infection in order to have them over

while young. This idea is quite erroneous, since any illness, however brief and slight, is a hindrance to growth, and may mean permanent impairment to some organ or function of the body. It is obvious that treatment and care during early life is our first line of defence against disease and suffering. The pre-school child is one of New Zealand’s greatest assets. The protection of the health of the pre-school child is the sacred trust and duty of every parent. Parents should avail themselves of the opportunities afforded by the Department of Health and other agencies for safeguarding the health and happiness of this important section of the community. Many young lives will be saved and much sickness avoided by this cooperation.