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
Tottenham 1954
[Report of the Medical Officer of Health for Tottenham]
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TABLE 3A
| Name of Centre | No, of sessions held | No. of First attendances under 1 year | No. of attendances | Total attendances | No. of cases seen by M.O. | Average attendance per session | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Under 1 year | Over 1 but under 2 years | Over 2 but under 5 years | ||||||
Toddlers Clinics
These clinics are held for children over two years of age, and the
mothers get a special appointment to come and bring their young children. It
is important that the numbers attending the clinic are kept low, giving at
least 15 minutes for each mother. The children generally are heed thy, well
fed, and well clothed and very little departure from the normal is found. In
spite of this, most mothers have a complaint, that the child won't eat, is
thin, is afraid of the dark, or some other personal difficulty in child
rearing.
Here is the beginning of anxiety on the mother's part about to be transferred
to the child, and at some future date it may blossom forth as a
disabling defect in the young adult. To combat this anxiety takes time and
experience on the doctor's part and it is becoming more generally recognised
that help is needed by the medical officers in this task of allaying anxiety.
A beginning has been made towards greater contact between the Child Guidance
team and these doctors and we hope before another year has passed that a firm
programme can be reported.
TABLE 3B TODDLER SESSIONS