222 SECTIONAL ADDRESSES. 



joyous atmosphere of the nursery school and, seeing how it is attained, 

 may learn her lesson. She discovers that for the riotous conduct in the 

 home she is not free from blame, and if she is wise she will change her 

 method of treatment. It is useless, however, to blame the parents. 

 This point is well put by Prof. Helen WooUey of Columbia University, 

 who was formerly director of one of the most famous nursery schools in 

 the world, the Merrill-Palmer School, Detroit : ' One cannot expect every 

 mother to be an expert in educational methods for children between two 

 and five, any more than we expect every mother to be an educational 

 expert in methods for children between five and ten years of age. In 

 fact, at present the younger period is rather the more difficult, because 

 it is not so well understood and not so well standardised as educational 

 work for older children.' 



The whole problem of the pre-school child presses for solution. The 

 difficulty is that although parenthood is the most important profession in 

 the world, there is at present no specific preparation for it and there is no 

 immediate prospect of a higher standard of parenthood. Yet it is clear 

 that in dealing with the young child there is a distinct need of expert 

 guidance. If, however, the home and the nursery school work together 

 the problem-children — who eventually may become a burden on the 

 State — will rapidly decrease in number. There can be no doubt whatever 

 that with a well-organised nursery school system there would be a 

 significant advance in the mental, physical and social welfare of the 

 children. 



I must mention in passing another movement of which we shall hear 

 a great deal in the near future. It is ' The Child Guidance Clinic ' which is 

 powerfully supported in America and elsewhere by ' The Commonwealth 

 Fund.' The function of the clinic is to look after the interests of mental 

 hygiene among children in the area in which it is established. In a fully 

 developed clinic the stafi consists of psychiatrists, psychologists and a 

 fully-trained body of expert investigators. Under ideal conditions, the 

 clinic has an independent existence and aids the various agencies interested 

 in the welfare of children within the sphere of its operations. Its main 

 objective is to formulate in a scientific way ' the rules of mental health 

 and the ways and means by which mental health may be gained or 

 increased.' Among its various activities are the following : the study 

 of abnormal children, systematic lecture courses for parents, and educating 

 teachers in mental hygiene. The purpose of the clinic is not to compete 

 with established work but to supplement it where necessary by co-operation. 



Experiments which are being conducted in America on the lines of the 

 child guidance clinic, vary in different localities. Experts from several 

 countries have reported very favourably on the results of the work of the 

 clinics and advise the adoption, frequently in a modified form, of similar 

 organisations in the countries they represent. 



Clinics having a similar objective, but with a less ambitious type of 

 organisation, have been in operation in England and Scotland for some 

 years, and through the generosity of the Commonwealth Fund a child 

 guidance clinic on the American plan has recently been started in London. 



The chief value of the clinic lies in remedial work, that is, in repairing 

 damage to the mental health of the children caused to a large extent by 



