The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-10-25
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
INFORM ALTON
BUREAU
BRINGING MOTHER UP TO DATE.
Washington. D. G.

washington, ~. T., Oct. Zl.-SiA
months have elapsed since the first
children's drive was launched by the
government-six months of ceaseless
propaganda and hard work, of which
| both the children's bureau and the
child welfare committee of the Coun-
ell of National Defense feel they have
reason to be proud. During this
short period 1000. 900 children uader
years of age have been weighed and
mea sured. Thousands have received
! medical treatment at the instigation
of child welfare experts. Several rev
state bureaus of child hygiene have
been created; child welfare clinics
have shown a remarkable increase;
| playground facilities have multiplied
| all over the country, and thousands of
! women are now engaged in the inpor-
| tant business of instilling into Anleri-
can mothers the principles of the new
| science Of motherhood.
Motherhood, like all other social in
| situations, is in a state of evolution.
/ 1t is constantly acquiring new respon-
! isbilities. new problems and new
/ working methods Fifty years ago,
when this country was only sparsely
| settled and the struggle for existence
! was relatively slight. it was not con-
| sidered a difficult task to bring up q
| family of twelve. The nation was then
| in an agricultural stage; food was
| abundant, there was plenty of room
for the population to move about, and
| women were content to stay at home
and apply themselves to housekeeping,
which had all the dignity of an i'm
| portant industry. Today, we have en-
! tered an industrial stage; our popula-
ton has increased enormously; house,
keeping has been transferred to
large extent from the home to the fac
| tory, and women. bereft of their old
occupations, are pouring into indus
| try. All this has had a great influence
| on the lives of our children. All this
has increased the responsibility of
| parenthood until now people often
show themselves incapable Of bringing
up a family of one. Women, es-
pecially, have apparently failed to
realize that the business of mother
hood has changed.
Not until the United States began
to draft men for war, did the govern
ment realize the necessity for bring
ing motherhood UP to date. For the
draft disclosed the fact that a large
percentage of the male population
was suffering from defects caused by
lack of care in childhood. This fact.
taken in connection with our large in
FAINT mortality rate, led the govern
ment to launch a Campaign for the
better care Of American children. On
April 1, the children's bureau, work
ing thru the remarkable organization
of the woman's committee of the
council of national defense, started its
first drive for the Weighing and meas
uring of children.
In all parts of the country babies
and children under 6 years of age
were weighed and measured. Hun
dreds of thousands were placed upon
scales in child welfare clinics. in gro
Gerry stores, In the offices of local ply
sicians and in their own homes, where
their parents weighed Them Inas-
much as the work was done by differ
ent agencies it has been impossible to
gather any accurate statistics as to
health standards. In the large cities.
| where most of the weighing and
measuring was carried on by very eff
ficient physicians. the health average
; was Invariably lower than in the
smaller towns and rural districts
where the weighing and measuring
was done by indulgent parents and
number Of children were found to be
detective. The percentage runs all
the way from "a to 20 per cent, but
these percentages are not based on the
: total child population, because in no
, case was the total child population
Jersey town. where 95 per cent of the
: child population was weighed and
measured, 66 per cent were shown to
be in need of medical treatment.
t The result of this weighing and
measuring was to arouse public senti-
ment in favor of immediate remedial
measures. The state of New Jersey,
for example, provided a department OF
e child hygiene. Several states ap-
pointed new public health nurses and
, state supervisors of nursing. In the
state of Connecticut a map showing
y which towns have public health nurses
: and which have not, together with
l someGacts astto the need of public
. health nurses, has been posted on ev-
| hull NIT
I state. Florida created a bureau OF
S education and child welfare. Wiscon-
= sin now requires all of its children tc
be. examined by its child welfare de
. partment before they may enter schoo
f for the first time in that state.
v The most common defects discover
ed in children examined in all part
L of the country were tonsils 7anc
I six years of age measured in Cali
. | forr1ia, 81 per cent were found will
abnormal tonsils and adenoids. Sucf
= defects are not always painful ane
= child welfare experts have had a grea
. deal of trouble in persuading mothers
that they should be corrected. Thu
e danger of deformed nose or jaw
n thru mouth breathing; of infected
- neck glands, of deafness, heart troubl,
and Of general poor health thruou
y abnormal tonsils and adenoids doe
not always frighten the mother OF thu
| defective one as much as it should
The following incident, which tool
place in child welfare clinic not Ions
: ago. illustrates the sort of mistaken
S maternal sentiment which the chile
i welfare worker is always encounter
: ing:
e -."Madame, yeurS1ittle boy has ade
e noids," said the examining physician
: Yes assented fhe little boy
mother cheerfully.
They should be removed at once,
continued the physician.
d "Oh. no. could not have tina
d DONE" exclaimed the little boys moth
@ err. throwing a protecting arm arount
her offspring. His dear father il
Il dead. and he inherits them from hi
IS father. l shall not have the n
e touched"
II Malnutritien was another comm OF