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89
CLOTHING.
The number of children whose clothing was considered
defective amounted to 587, most of whom were boys. This
incidence is probably due to poverty, as there is more difficulty
in making boys' clothes at home and not the same opportunity for
adapting garments that have been used by elder members of the
family. In spite of the considerable number of children going to
school with defective clothing there is a striking improvement in
the method adopted by those parents who are well enough off to
buy suitable material and make their children's clothes at home.
Many parents appear to have followed the advice given them in
respect of this matter during the past two years. Much of this
success is due to those head teachers who have kindly co-operated
with us in this matter.
MALNUTRITION.
It is a pity that some definite meaning cannot be attached to
this term. Some observers appear to be guided entirely by weight
and classify children as badly nourished if they are
below the standard weight. It has been shown in former years
that the average weight of elementary school children is slightly
below the British Association standard for England and Wales and
considerably below the figures obtained for secondary school
children in Croydon. If weight therefore was the sole criterion of
malnutrition it is obvious that one could at once classify more than
one half of our Croydon children as badly nourished. My own
practice is to regard malnutrition as something rather more serious
than this, and children whom I have personally examined are only
marked badly nourished if in addition to being under weight there
are symptoms such as listlessness, anaæmia or flabbiness, that will
lead one to suspect that they are suffering from insufficient food,
incipient or recent disease, or from an injudicious dietary. The
large increase in the number of children classified as badly
nourished in 1910 is due to a different standard having been
adopted for the bulk of the children examined.
EYE DISEASES.
External eye diseases, such as conjunctivitis, inflammation of
the lids, etc., were noted in 266 instances. Where necessary these
children are referred for treatment by Mr. Wray at the Town Hall.
Sub-normal vision was noted in 411 instances. All children
requiring further examination are referred to the Ophthalmic
Surgeon.