Document byO7r3Ljv81KG5oGv7DaXjVNg

TIME MEDICINE Paint Eater* If yaar child is slow with building blocks, but quick on tantrums, he may be a lead eater. Many a parent knows that baby should not be given toys glorified with lead point. But not all parents realise that children thwarted in this re-poct may start chewing lead punt off windowsills and other places. (Parents make a mistake when they carefully re paint cribs with lead containing paint.) And not many doctors realise that one consequence of the plumbic passion irj children may be stupidity. last week doctors and parents learned the worst from an article in the A mrruan Jottmai of Diseases of Children, by Dr. Randolph Kunhardt Byers and the late Elizabeth Evans Lord, Fh.D., of Boston. Years ago Dr. Lord had a hunch that there was more to lead poisoning than anemia, constipation, paralysis, loss of appxrtite, nervous disorders and deposits of lead in the long bones and along the gums. She noticed that some lead pxhsoned babies differed psychologically from nor mal babies, patiently traced the effects in the school careers of 20 children, of whom 18 had been point caters. Ail but one child, Dr. Lord discovered, were school failures. Only five had normal I Q.s, and four of the five were so erratic that they could not leam easily. Most of the other children were so stupid (I.Q. 69 to 96) and ill behaved that they had to repeat classes, attend spx-cial classes or even give up school entirely. One little girl bit pxrople just to see them bleed, and was erpielled from school for darning cm the desks and the piano. TIME. DfCEMtE* 20. 19C3 49 N40013 TyCro