View report page

108
His sole reason was that he missed the child too much to allow her to stay
away for a longer period. This so-called parental love is responsible for a
great deal of mental instability and poor physical health in children. Where
it occurs, the pleasure of the parent in the child is placed before the welfare
of the child. Any attempt to remove the child even temporarily from the
influence of the parent is resisted, the reason given being that " the child
would fret."
Sixteen of the twenty-four cases were at convalescent homes eight
weeks or longer; and of these, eight were away twelve weeks or longer.
Two-thirds of the total number were children under three years, and the
remainder were aged 3-5 years.
With two exceptions, definite improvement was recorded in all cases.
The children were all underweight before they were sent away, and the
rapidity with which they gained weight in the more stable environment
of the convalescent home was often remarkable. It is found advisable
to warn mothers that this weight may not be maintained after the children
return home after convalescence. Mothers who consider that they are
giving the children exactly the same diet as they received in the convalescent
home are dismayed to find that, instead of a continued gain in weight,
there may actually be a loss in the months immediately following convalescence.
The majority of the children were labelled "debility." In 10 cases
there was a previous history of some catarrhal infection—measles, whooping
cough, bronchitis, pneumonia or otitis media. In one the debility followed
diphtheria. In 3 cases the home conditions were deplorable, the mothers
being of the uneducable type, and the fathers unemployed.
In several cases the change in the child's general condition was so
great that the mother herself stated he/she "looked a different child."
One case is worth discussing in greater detail. The circumstances were
similar to those of the unfortunate child whose father removed her after
three weeks. The father was unemployed, the child aged 1 year 10 months,
and—according to the mother—the father "spoiled the child." The child
was receiving one pint of milk free each day through the maternity and
child welfare scheme, which ensured that I saw the mother at intervals.
It was several months before I obtained, through her, the father's permission
to arrange convalescence for the child. The child at that time was fretful,
had a poor appetite and was not gaining weight. The first week in the
convalescent home she screamed day and night whenever she was left to
herself and the authorities were afraid they would have to send her home.
In two weeks she had settled down, but then the parents intervened—as
in the other case, and it was only with difficulty that they were persuaded
to leave the child in the Home. When she was eventually discharged from
the Home—after 14 weeks—the change in her appearance was amazing.
She looked happy, whereas formerly she had looked miserable ; she had a
good appetite and she had gained 3½ lbs. in weight. The Matron of the
Convalescent Home wrote that she considered the child one of the most
interesting and successful cases she had ever had under her care.