The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1933-05-04
BOILING 1T DOWN

may Is the LlOuCu when we lOCuS
national attention on the health
care of our children, and now that
we are in the midst of the cam
paign, with educational and clinical
facilities on all sides, it is an ex-
cellent time to make a definite
check-up on our child's physical
progress.
What specifically, needs to be car
ed for before the beginning of the
next school year. For one thing, it
will give the child a good start, If
any medical attention he may need,
such as having tonsils and adenoids
removed, teeth Strengthened, etc., is
done. If he has not yet been innoc-
ulated against diptheria with toxin
antitoxin or toxoid, and vaccinated
against smallpox, this is an impor-
tant thing to have done. Because
it takes from three to six months
for the innoculated child to become
immune, and because children are
usually ill for a brief period after
innoculation, it is better to have
this done several months before
the child enters school. Then, if
there is, suddenly a rule that he
must have this immunization before
entering, your children will be
ready. Besides, every year so many
children must add to the burden of
adjusting to school, the added one
of feeling ill and losing time be-
cause they have just been vacci-
mated or innoculated.
Children who live in the country,
and who have never come in con-
tact with these two diseases, es-
pecially need protection before en-
tering school, where they are bound
to be exposed sooner or later. Oc-
casionally there is one case where
an innoculated person contracted
the disease, but we mustn't lose
SIGHT CT the fact that dip:heria in
regulation is 95 per cent successful
perhaps more so, and communi-
ties which have insisted upon its
use have been found to have the
lowest death rate.
Almost every community Is hav-
this month; instruction in specific
items will be easy to procure. but
.ometiines it seems complicated and
little bewildering. Let's boil down
this matter of health care to few
simple essentials.
there is something more than
Temp srary ailment wrong with your
chcd, that he should b. taken to
tho doctor?
IAN the child can usually tell
you also; that loss of weight or
failure 10 gain "a child weighs
more ali the while that he is grow
ing, even though he MAJ be thin
ming out as he grows talD night
sweating, morning tiredness. and
sudden }, SIS Of appetite at'er he has
bean eating wei there are the
things to take tt, the doctor.
1t s. a good ting to keep re-
cord Of your CT. DIS progress in
growth re keep you aware Of what
is hapie hing; loss Of weight Or
failure u gain is not easy to de-
tcct. lie Institute Of Child Wei
fare, University IF Minnesota Nip
neapoais, will have ready soon, for
readers who want them, reprints of
a chart on which parents can chart
the course of their children's
growth. It is very simple to keep,
and shows, besides, where your
child stands in relation to the av-
erage. But remember that loss Of
weight does not mean the same as
not being up to average" weight.
It means that the pencil line indi-
eating weight drops sharply 6rwn |
this is your warning to take him
to the doctor.
Teeth should be checked up reg
ularly. Take the child to the dem |
fist for the first time when he is
about three years old and then take