Child welfare (1962)

in Britain it's well understood that one of the nation's greatest assets is the health and well-being of its children mrs. Atkins a typical British mother is sitting in the park with her two-year-old son she's expecting a second child talking to her as mrs. Brown a widow left with three young children to bring up without the help of the state should have had a very hard time half a century ago she might have been totally dependent on private charity to feed and clothe her children coming to join them as mrs. Carr a happy young mother with a fine baby the three women know each other well as they frequently meet at their local child welfare centre here the child welfare service begins long before the child is born the health visitor gives expectant mothers a demonstration with a dummy baby women having a first baby sometimes feel the need for advice and instruction on how to handle it she'll also instruct expectant mothers on how to keep fit and well in every way during these months when the health of the mother can be so important to the growth of the baby here she's taking a group of them in controlled reading exercises that they can do at home here they're doing relaxing exercises that will great to help them to overcome nervous and muscular tensions during childbirth it's often present and more effective to do these exercises with a small group of other women it helps to dispel the feeling of loneliness in facing childbirth mrs. Atkins would like to have her second baby at home rather than in hospital the health visitor encourages this the house is clean and comfortable and all the arrangements can be quite conveniently made the health visitor has now informed the Midwife was calling to make sure the mother knows what to have ready for the confinement the midwife will go on calling regularly she keeps in touch with the family doctor who's already examined mrs. Atkins and will attend the confinement if requested but generally the Midwife manages this herself she's brought over a thousand babies into the world and when the new baby has arrived much help is available through the child welfare service at the health center orange juice cod liver oil vitamin tablets at reduced charges dried milk some health centers have a supply of baby foods on sale clothing and boots and shoes that rapidly become too small for the growing baby are brought here by the mothers to be sold to other mothers often at bargain prices the clinic charges a small Commission on each sale which helps towards providing the friendly cup of tea most mothers in Britain bring their babies regularly to the child welfare center not because the baby is showing any sign of ill health but to make certain that in these early stages it's making normal progress many of them like mrs. Carr and mrs. Atkins have been coming here since before their babies were born by now everyone knows everyone else they can admire each other's babies and there's an atmosphere of friendliness very different from the traditional institution the older children can play with someone keeping an eye on them plus the mother takes her baby to be weighed and examined when so many babies are brought together absolute tenderness and hygiene of the first importance a fresh sheet of clean tissue is put on the scale for each baby and the baby's clothes are placed in separate containers volunteer helpers take a big part in all this but the full-time staff of experts is in attendance as well as this is mrs. Atkins first visit with her new baby it's advisable to have expert medical opinion any slight disorder detected now can be dealt with and treated and will probably save a great deal of trouble later on in life but the state recognizes that all this expert attention would be of little value if the child weren't properly provided for at home to help with this every mother of more than one child is entitled to receive a children's allowance she draws it through her local post office eight shillings a week for the second child and ten shillings a week for any subsequent child until they leave school mrs. Brown has just received her family allowance together with her widow's pension mrs. Atkins received a maternity grant when the baby was born and now she's drawing her family allowance for the first time these allowances are intended to ensure that regardless of the circumstances of the parents no child shall be deprived of the essentials of a healthy and happy life the money to pay for them and for all the other welfare services comes from public funds to which practically everyone subscribes to taxes local rates and national insurance contributions every healthy normal child in Britain must attend school from the age of five years at Primary School such as this children remain until they're 11 years old here their education begins in earnest and great care is taken of their physical health as well every school child is given a free bottle of milk each day and a hot midday meal is provided at a small cost to the parents or free if they can't afford to pay the children may go home for meals if they wish but nowadays with so many parents going out to work it's a great convenience to eat at school and allows more time for recreation and social contacts throughout the whole of their years of schooling from the age of five until they're at least fifteen the children have regular medical examinations to check their physical fitness growth and general development particular attention is paid to hearing in the past many children have been considered backward when what was really wrong was slightly defective hearing here a test is being made with a vibrating tuning fork for a more delicate test can be made electronically this enables the slightest degree of defective hearing to be detected and measured I testing is also of vital importance to a young child for the same reason after all we learn mostly through our eyes and ears careful watch is kept on the children's teeth for any decay or irregularities and when necessary the child's given time off from school to attend the dental surgery undoubtedly a school plays a large part in a child's life but everyone recognizes that home life comes first a family without a father has many problems the provision of good quality school clothing may be one of them but if necessary the education authorities can make a grant towards the cost mrs. Brown manages without this grant for now that the children are older she's taken a part-time job she's allowed to earn up to five pounds a week without any reduction in her allowances and she's able to leave her youngest child at a nursery school for a few hours each day while she's at work many local authorities provide nursery schools like this one for children under five years of age there's little or no formal education but the children are well looked after and are encouraged to express themselves in play they learn to like school and look forward to it so far we've been thinking mainly of a child who has the benefit of a good home what of the child who's deprived of this the child whose parents are dead or for some reason unable to provide for it properly for such children that a residential nurseries in which they may live and be cared for until such time as their own parents are able to take them back or failing that until other arrangements can be made for them such as finding foster parents mrs. Forrest whose own little boy is now ten years old feels that she would like to be a foster mother to a baby her husband and son would love to have another little boy in the house and the state would make them an allowance for his maintenance the childcare officer whose Duty it is to make sure that the family and the home are suitable for a foster child has called to discuss the matter with her there are many thousands of happy children being cared for by foster parents many of them have been completely adjusted to the family and indeed have become just like one of the family throughout Britain every day incidents like this are taking place at residential nurseries a child care officer is bringing a little family for a need of care and attention sometimes it's a temporary difficulty the mother has had to go into hospital fathers at work and there are no relatives or friends who can take care of the children sometimes the situation is much worse and they have no home at all whatever may be the misfortune the child an unwitting and innocent member of the community should not suffer mr. and mrs. Forrest are now coming to collect their foster child from the matron of the residential nursery they've already visited him several times and he's no stranger to the family it's an exciting moment for them all when he goes to his new home so in these and many other ways the state invests in its future the Hat a healthy child ensuring that it shall be given every chance to grow into a healthy intelligent citizen and develop its natural powers to the full