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This psychological approach yields satisfactory and in some
cases quite rapid results in young children attending the Toddler
and welfare clinics,
As each medical officer spends three months with the psychiatrist
for one session per week, confidence in this new approach is assured,
A major problem is to get the mothers to attend for such
advice. It is a curious fact that a woman will bring her healthy
baby regularly to the clinic to be weighed, and to get advice on
minor matters, but as soon as the baby can walk, talk and eat
ordinary food, the anxiety about him eases off, and small deviations
from normality are either not noticed or neglected.
An unruly toddler can cause much unhappiness in a family.
So often the story of his bad behaviour is the first thing that is
told to father on his return from work, which causes annoyance to
the father, and in consequence more aggression in the child.

The work of this clinic is unhurried and gives adequate time
for the mother to talk about her child to ask questions about
various injections to p ro tect the chil d from infection operations,
treatments feeding. should he be sent to a nursery school or not,
what shoes should he wear and so on, In fact the mother has a
sympathetic atmosphere in which to discuss the child s and her own
problems.