Evening star., 1935-07-30
Parents Indifference
Proves Real Crime
By Spreading Disease
Youngters Who Are Not Quite Up to Par
Physically Should Not Be Allowed
in Crowded Places.

says, ooh, you just stayed In the
water too long yesterday. told you
to come out sooner" But the fact
remains the child didn't come out
he wasn't made to. Most children
WHO love the water are regular water
rats-and they will never come out,
no matter how cold they are, until
stern measures are taken.
In any event, Mother pays no at
tention to these symptoms of which
the child complains. AS the day
wears on, she becomes preoccupied
with something around the house,
and when the child comes to her for
permission to 60 swimming she has
forgotten the morning conversation,
and says, Certainly, 60 ahead"
Possibly she never even thinks about
it again until the child comes wearily
home, a bit earlier than usual, with
dull eyes and flushed cheeks. He
doesn't eat much supper, and drags
himself off to bed without being told
and still Mother notices nothing un-
usual.
Later in the night-terrifying ILL
ness and fever; the doctor, walked
from sleep, hurrying in with his black
bag; and. with the dawn, the knowl-
edge that life itsalf is at stake.
THEN does Mother realize her own
sorrow-but, tragically enough,
the wrong does not stop there. Her
child may recover: but what of the
dozens of others that have been ex-
posed to the germs he spread so
lavishly about him on that last day?
Some will escape, of course; some
may have the disease lightly, and re-
cover-but there will be other moth
ers, watching by other beds, who will
see their best beloveds slipping from
them-snatched to death by the care
leSsness of another woman.
The staying overlong IN the water
didn't produce the disease, of course.
But 1t did lower the childs resist
ance, so that it was easy for the
first germ that contacted him to get
in its deadly work then and there.
The real crux of the situation is that
the mother did not pay immediate
attention to the childs complaints in
the morning-take his temperature,
keep him quietly in the house and
watch him closely during the day.
Then she would have been alert to
notice any further disturbing symp-
toms, a doctor would 1ave been called
promptly and, most important of all.
other innocent little children would
not have been exposed to infection.
Mothers who take their children to
theaters, stores or anywhere else apt
to be crowded with children, when
their own child is not up to par, per-
petrate a real crime on childhood.
One case Of whooping cough in a
crowded inclosure may lay dozens low.
Just because one child has a disease
mildly is no reason to assume that
those who catch it from him will have
it mildly, too.
HALF the time mothers don't re-
alize that anything is the matter
with the child. They don't pay
enough attention to small signs and
have to be confronted with major
illness before they 60 into action. The
same thing holds true in the Winter,
at school. If every mother would
really check up on her cnild's health
thoroughly every morning before he
leaves the house, there would be far
less spread Of colds and minor con-
tagious diseases to upset the school
year.
Careful mothers protect their own
children, and others also, by being
alert and having a tendency to err
on the too-cautious side But their
efforts are hopelessly cleckmated by
any one careless mother who lets her
sick child loose to spread sorrow and
disaster In his wake.
Keep your child out of all crowds
when he is not absolutely top hole"
Rest and quiet will help him to with
stand any sickness that may be COM
ing. II there Is nothing the matter,
the rest and quiet won't have harmed
him in the least. Watch him intel
ligently, so that you may be able to
detect the slightest symptom of any
thing wrong.
Protect other children and you will
protect your own.