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(4) Favourable consideration should be given by Local
Authorities to the method of placing children in a
home by arrangements being made with a woman
who has a home but must work and maintain herself,
by which she takes a number of children and is paid
a living wage. The fact that the children would be
brought up in the woman's own home would have
considerable advantage over the present arrangements
of "scattered homes." This method is particularly
suitable for large families of brothers and
sisters.
(5) A considerable number of children are fostered without
any notification to the Local Authority concerned.
Suitable publicity might therefore be given to the
legal requirements in such circumstances.
(6) Children found by a Juvenile Court to be in need of
care and protection should be accepted by the Local
Authority without the option of refusal.
There is little doubt that the recommendations of the
Curtis Committee when carried out, either in whole or in part,
will add greatly to the happiness of children deprived of a
normal home life. It is to be hoped, however, that a method
will be devised for utilising the wealth of knowledge of
particular cases already possessed by local Officers dealing
with this subject.
EXERCISES FOR EXPECTANT MOTHERS:
The class for expectant mothers was continued under the
guidance of a trained physiotherapist. The purpose of the
exercises is, briefly, to make child-bearing easier. It has been
difficult to decide by a study of the duration of the various
stages of labour or by other criteria just how far this is
achieved, but there is no doubt whatever of the enthusiasm of
the women who attend and the reduction, particularly in
primipara, of their natural apprehension, and in this connection
the following brief report from the physiotherapist is
illuminating:—