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97
The clothing and footwear was estimated on a 3 point scale as to suitability,
quality, quantity, cleanliness and repair.
Although no child was seen whose clothing was definitely insufficient or altogether
unsuitable, it is seen that poverty and home conditions are reflected in this
one item alone. There were only 6 out of 100 children from the demolition area
whose clothing and footgear were in really good order as against 72 from the better
homes, and while the clothing of 37 of the former class was deemed to be poor, no
child from the better area was so badly clad as to appear in this category.
Nutrition, judged on the general appearance and the physical condition of each
child as exhibited by the development and tone of the muscles, colour and texture
and condition of the skin, the expression and the poise and alertness of the body, was
classed as good 1, average 2 and fair to poor 3. Such a personal estimate is liable
to be biassed by the general type of individuals seen at one time. The tendency
when examining a number of children all of good physique and nutrition is to adopt,
unconsciously, a higher standard than when seeing only poorly-developed and illnourished
individuals—even so, 32 children from the better homes were classed as
Nutrition 1, against 11 children from the condemned homes, and only 9 of the former
were of Nutrition 3, against 34 of the latter.
The cleanliness of the skin and presence of vermin marks were carefully noted
as an indication of the home conditions. Vermin-marked children were not numerous,
but in 9 cases of poor children the distribution of the marks round exposed parts,
such as the neck, was thought to indicate bug marks. Such insects only flourish
in dilapidated, dirtv and overcrowded houses. No child from the better area showed
such marks.
The nutritional condition of the skin and presence or absence of blemishes such
as excoriations from scratching, dry scaly patches, moist eczematous and seborrhceic
conditions, sores and impetigo, etc., also register the levels of social and economic
standing, and again the children from the condemned area show badly, 21 of them
exhibiting such blemishes against 2 of the other class.
Evidence of past dental trouble there was in plenty and fairly evenly distributed
in the two classes, but active caries was present in 14 of the better-housed children
and in 35 of the poorer—the inference being that the more careful parents have
treatment when such is indicated.
Whenever the tonsils were visible they were noted, which accounts for the large
percentage seen in this series. Again the incidence of tonsils—present or enucleated
—is evenly divided between the two groups, the percentage being respectively 53
and 52 per cent., but tonsillectomy had been performed in 31 of the better-housed
children and in 13 of the others—further evidence of greater parental care of the more
fortunate children.
Clogging of the nostrils, nasal discharges, external ear and eye defects are
relatively more frequent in children from poorer houses. Many of these conditions
have been classed with impetigo as "Dirt" diseases, and in all these defects this
series of poorer children showed unenviable pre-eminence.
Although vision was not tested, the number of children wearing glasses was noted
—13 from the better homes and 8 from the poorer—again evidence of parental care
rather than a heavier incidence of defective vision among the better children.
Retardation of the mind and body is sometimes associated with defects of
articulation—just as instability of mind and body is occasionally expressed in
stammering, and such defects of speech were present in 6 of the children from the
bad area.
The presence of some slight abnormality in the heart or its action was more
than twice as common and pallor and anaemia nearly twice as common, while
evidence of defective circulation was more than 3 times as frequent in the badly
housed children. Bronchial catarrh was present in 10 of these children and