Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1918-05-10
WEIGH YOUR CHILD FOR THE GOV.
EMINENT.


have been issued by the Child Welfare
Department of the Woman's Commit
tee of the Council of National Defense
to its State and local child welfare
chairmen who will be responsible for
the test in each community. The rec
ord cards will follow after word is
received of the exact number required
by each committee.
This test is the first feature of Child
ren's Year which began in other Sec
tons a month ago. The plans for
Children's Year prepared by the Child
ren's Bureau of the U. s. Department
OF Labor include activities designed to
protect all children from the special
dangers of war time and to save the
lives of 100000 little children before
this date another year.
Many Of the physical defects which
caused the rejection of one third Of
the men coming up for examination
In the first draft are believed to date
from some slight trouble neglected in
early childhood. And the Children's
Bureau emphasizes the fact that a
higher standard of physical fitness i'm
the rising generation can be assured
only by greater attention to the ply
steal condition of children.
According to the Bureau, heig hit and
weight and their relation to each 9TH
or are a rough index of young child's
health and development. For instance,
when child is strikingly below the
average weight for his height or is
strikingly small for his age, it indi-
Gates that expert advice about diet
and daily care is needed. In so far as
the test makes it plain to parents that
the physical condition of their child
rem needs special attention, and in so
far as it leads to community provision
for public health nurses and consulta-
ton centers for babies and young
children, to safeguarding of the milk
supply, and p other measures for the
protection Of children, it will aid in
conserving their health and in reach
Ing the goal Of 100, 900 lives saved dur
ing Children's Year.
The record care which the Children's
Bureau has prepared for this test gives
table OF average heights and weights
for boys and girls at birth, at every
month Of age from the 9th to the 4sth
and at every year from the 9th to the
18th. One.half of the card will be re-
tanned by the parents. 1t includes the
table OF heights and has blanks for
subsequent records so that parents
can watch the child's growth; for
while single examination is valuable
q series Of examinations is far more
valuable.
The other half of the card provides
also for recording the height of the
child at the time of the national test.
1t will be used by the local committee
In analysing the facts about its own
and then it will be for
warded to the Children's Bureau at
Washington.
Tensas parish parents who wish to
enter their children i'm the national
tsst should communicate with the To-
cal chairman OF the child welfare CON-
mittee Of their State Council of Ma
tional Defense, Mrs. S. p. Hornsby, at
st. Joseph.
The Government is demanding that
each State shall save the lives of the
hundreds of babies that die each
year from various preventable causes.
Louisiana has been gwen 2IOS of these
babies to save. To do this work ade-
the program includes various
phases OF parental care of mothers
end the care of mother and child after
birth, etc. Of course, this is a big I'M
dertaking and all that the Govern
ment has asked us to do for the next
Two months is to make a start i'm the
work that it plans to take year to
do. There are two preliminaries, The ,
hrst step Is to work out the Child Wei ,
Iare organization, so that it will be ,
ready to carry out the necessary work.
Of course, the assistance is needed not .
only OF professional nurses, doctors.
men In general, and heads of Social /,
Service Organizations, etc, but still T,
greater number of non professional !
volunteer workers is needed. This il ,
where the Woman's Committee Or.
sanization i'm this parish is expected ,
20 give its assistance. IL the orgaui-
Eation is worked out i'm the way in
which Washington wants ii, it will re-
luire as many workers as we had for
registration IN addition to the parish
ward Child Welfare Committee. For il
his reason the interest and co-opera- n
ion OF ward captains is specially de- 5
lred so that they in turn will enlist
he help of the precinct workers, SO
hat even the smallest communities
will be given the opportunities for
iving its babies as the large commu-
titles.
Very simply stated the Baby Test
esolves itself into this: making a can C
ass so that the name and age of every q
ably up to five years of age shall be u
nown and it's mother urged to bring G
to some central station selected By B