View report page

214
with illness when it comes. It is more particularly the highly
strung, nervous bright and energetic child who is adversely affected,
as he, in the ordinary course of things, draws more prodigally on
his reserves than does the phlegmatic child. It is also the former
type of child who shines most in scholastic work and is anxious to
progress. This again means calling on his reserves of energy
which, rather than being dissipated by shortened hours of sleep,
should be conserved by giving him longer hours than are required by
the latter type of child.
A child's state of nutrition also has an effect on his later
physical progress. Severe malnutrition in childhood is never really
made good in after life. Childhood is the great growing period.
A badly nurtured seedling never becomes a really satisfactory plant
and the same holds good with the human race. This matter of
nutrition is of fundamental importance and must always be
of concern to parents, doctors and teachers. There is much ignorance
among parents on the subject of economical and valuable
catering, and it is submitted that good would be done by a
course of theoretical and practical instruction to all scholars in their
final year, on this subject of vital importance.
Table IV. gives the results of an enquiry made to ascertain
the average heights and weights of all children examined at routine
inspection in 1930. The full value of this table will not be obtained
until similar records for ten consecutive years have been analysed;
when this is completed the rate of growth can be followed, so far as
Croydon children are concerned, throughout school life.