London's Pulse: Medical Officer of Health reports 1848-1972
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Hints from the Health Department. Leaflet from the archive of the Society of Medical Officers of Health. Credit: Wellcome Collection, London
Walthamstow 1960
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Walthamstow]
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53
WALTHAMSTOW CHILD GUIDANCE CENTRE
Report on Children under Five Years of Age
The following report is contributed by Dr. Helen Gillespie,
Consultant Psychiatrist at the Walthamstow Child Guidance
Centre: -
“Fourteen children under five were referred to clinic in 1960.
| Sleep disturbance | 5 |
| Unmanageable | 4 |
| Backwardness in speech | 1 |
| General unhappiness | 1 |
| Multiple complaints: | |
| Disturbance over sleep; | |
| feeding, head banging; | |
| tempers, etc. | 1 |
| Soiling and wetting | 2 |
Analysis of problems found:-
These are mostly forms of disturbance in the mother/child
relationship. Typical disturbances were the following:-
1. Highly nervous mother, whose handling was uneven and
whose child felt insecure with her.
2. Unwanted child and unhappily married mother.
3. Regression to infantile habits after the birth of a
baby brother or sister, based on jealousy and need
for attention.
4. Open aggression to younger brother or sister, and
resentment of mother's apparent neglect of himself.
5. Over strict training, and general ignorance in mother
of norms of child development.
6. Inherent backwardness in the child.
7. Impaired maternal capacity through brain damage or
psychopathy.