LITTLE NEW ZEALANDERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 898, 15 February 1930, Page 15

LITTLE NEW ZEALANDERS

IMPORTANCE OF PRE-SCHOOL UPBRINGING PROTECTION OF HEALTH In New Zealand there are 105,187 children ranging from two to five s'ears of age, and the protection of their health is a problem of first im- ; Portance. It is during infancy anGt ; childhood that those life habits are | formed which are responsible for | health, character and personality, for, , to quote Socrates: “In every work the , beginning is the most important, especially in dealing with anything >oung and tender,” says a paper contributed by the Department of Health. The responsibility of parents is great, and to assist them in healthy upbringing of children, various agencies have been established such as the ante-natal clinics, Plunket Society, school medical service, 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 adolescence. Not only are we concerned with the production of a perfect child, however, but also to provide him a* wholesome environment in those early years which make up the critical period of growth and development. PARENTS’ RESPONSIBILITY Whatever qualities a child inherits may be modified either to his advantage or disadvantage. It is parents who make his environment to a large extent, and who most powerfully influence his destiny, for the age under five is the crucial age psychologically as well as physically. The home is the workshop in which the character and personality are moulded by tlie 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 mind and body. Such fundamental requirements are sunshine and pure air, food ,ancl water, warmth and protection, sleep and rest, freedom and exercise. A happy simile, and one of the common lessons of every-day experience, is that of a plant which grows strong and vigoroirs 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. In addition, special care must be devoted to the removal of weakness or defect by attention in its earliest stages. One great purpose of our antenatal clinics, the infant, welfare centre, is to instruct mothers in the primary essentials of hygienic living. It is a well-known fact that good mothers do not necessarily come into the world ready made, and that the instinct of motherhod is not of itself a sufficient equipment for the satisfactory nurture and upbringing of a family. Knowledge and training in the essentials of mothercraft is of vital importance. MODERN KINDERGARTENS The modern kindergarten does much valuable work in the interest of the pre-school child. In the environment thus provided, he lives a life of joyous activity where healthy interest ia quickened and energy wisely directed, and where, also, his body is subjected to a wholesome regime of work and lest and play. In the kindergarten schools, as in the home, a sure foundation for the child’s education may be laid. The medical supervision of children attend these schools, carried out by the Department of Health’s School Medical Service, ensures a higher standard in the physical condition of children entering the elementary schools. In certain districts arrangements have been made whereby parents may bring pre-school children for examination by the school medical officer. INFECTIOUS DISEASES

A harmful doctrine held by many mothers is that all children must have the common infectious diseases aud 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.

There is an urgent need for guarding the pre-school child against infectious disease, since it has been estimated in New Zealand a larger percentage of illnesses from these diseases occur under live years of age, and many of these, such as diphtheria,’ whooping cough and measles are the cause of chronic illnesses of adult life. When cases of such infectious disease occur in the home, children should be carefully safeguarded from infection. Children who have just recovered from certain infectious diseases, such as scarlet fever and diphtheria, sometimes carry the germs in their noses and throats, so that for two or three weeks after release from quarantine, the child should sleep by itself if possible, and certainly should not sleep with other children. If the other children have been sent away from home during the course of illness, it is advisable not to let them return home until a week has elapsed after quarantine has been lifted.