View report page

55
MEASLES AND WHOOPING COUGH.
The deaths from these diseases during the year were very numerous,
55 being attributed to Measles and 32 to Whooping Cough.
Both diseases are very infectious and cause yearly many deaths,
besides being responsible for many serious after effects.
Their prevalance and apparent inevitableness make parents careless,
and it is not uncommon to find, when a child is stricken down in a
home, that the other children of the family are allowed to constantly
associate with the sufferer, so that they all may have it and get it over.
No advice to act on the contrary is listened to, with the result that there
are bi-annual epidemics, and consequent great loss of life. Joined to
this the prevailing habit of sending children to school under five years
of age, and the desire of parents that their children should not miss a
day and thus earn a medal for regular attendance, are responsible for
much of this serious child wreckage. Invariably Measles starts with
the youngest member of the family attending the Infants' Schools;
and before the disease proclaims itself and the child is too ill to attend,
the infection is spread.
Of the fifty-five deaths from Measles, 45 were under 5 years of age;
and of the 32 deaths from Whooping Cough 29 were under 5 years.
I think it would be safe to say that many of these deaths would not
occur if all children under 5 years were refused admittance to schools,
and children would be better physically and mentally in the long run.
For children up to 5 years of age, the forced and unnatural positions
that must ensue at school, are neither useful nor beneficial; and at
that tender age, to be forced to sit still or give their attention for
even half-an-hour, must be a great punishment when we reflect how
difficult it is to get children to sit still at their own homes. The healthy
and natural child's habit is to be constantly on the move, and this
activity serves to promote health and growth. A visit to a baby's
class-room, between three and four o'clock in the afternoon, will suffice
to convince anyone that mentally very young children cannot benefit
by the early working of their little brains—most of the children are
listless and tired-looking and inclined to go to sleep.
At a recent meeting of the Society of Medical Officers of Health, in
discussing the report of the Inter-Departmental Committee on Physical
Degeneration the opinion was generally expressed that 6 years was
the minimum age when children should attend school. Were this age
limit legalised, no doubt Measles and Whooping Cough, even if inevitable,
would lead to much less loss of life and fewer bad after effects
than at present.