FEEDING THE BABY.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 26, 25 October 1907, Page 3

FEEDING THE BABY.

VALUABLE HINTS AND SUGGESTIONS. Below we print the eighth scction of an important circular on tho feeding and care of'tho baby, which has ■ been issued by tho (Jhristchurch and :Dunedin brandies of tho Society for Promoting the Health of Women and "Ghildrori. VIII. • - GIVING SWEETS. Tho sin of giving sweets to infants is one concerning which it difficult to speak too strongly. _Thc following clear statements by r ®[ c ss° r Itotch should be taken to heart Ilic infant should never bo givon cakc or candy even to.taste. It is necessary to state this.very^decidedly because it is an erroneous \ lew,-which, is held by most mothers that it can do 110 harm to give occasionally to an inffnt m its second year of life, or to a younp child,'a little candy or a littlo cakc. ' This may be true so far as the immediate effect these;, articles have on the digestion is concerned, but it is of far more importance that tho infant should not havo its taste perverted from those articles of diet which are best, for its These new articles appeal more strongly"to its .sense of taste, and .allow it to know that there is something whiclv tastes more agreeable than the food whi<;h it is accustomed to have. When an infant has acquired a taste for cake' or candy it will cease to enjoy the food by which its development will be best perfected. It is, in fact,-kinder to tho infant never to allow it toltasto eake or candy. When these arti-cles-arc withheld it will continue to havo a healthy appetite and tasto for necessary and proper articles of food.

' Thfcre are not many, fruits which should be givori. to the infant in its second year. A baked apple can be given at the morning meal when? the infant is 14 to 15 months-old; or, for variety,'tho apple can be made into a simple sauce, never, however, having the sauco' made-with much sugar. Orange .juice is excellent,, especially if tho infant is inclined to'be constipated. Most other fruits shoiild be avoided, as thoy are not necessary for the infant's nutrition, and at times produce .seriour trouble.

Professor Rotch lays it down that a simple dictary on the lines indicated above (including a,, little butter 011 the bread after 16 months)- is sufficient for the infant up to two and 'a-lialf years of ago. He says:— It is important for the subsequent integrity of tho infant's digestion and general nutrition that; the parents should insist that no other-; articles of food bo employed oxcept such'.as arc,similar to those which have been mentioned—namoly , the corcat.* in a variety of. forms, according to the tasto, judgment, ancLJcnowledgo-of cooking.which esiats in tho special household-.- For instance, preparations of; wheat and barley cooked in various forms may be given in tho placo of oatmeal. If the. infant is copstipatcd. somo brown bread may be given .in place of white-bread, .but-on the whole white bread is more atflily digested, and constipation is bettor overcome by other means, such as tho use of morefrmt and; y'egetables, plenty of fresh air and exorcise', training to regular habits (is to motions, i etc.. •; New bread shouklncver be given. Itomomber thati throughout the first few yearaj of life, good new milk should, continue; to bo> the main-food of tho 'child,' the standard allowance being about a pint and a-half. ■ Tho following,advice is quoted direct from Professor' Holt:—'.. . ■

' ; . ARTICLES FORBIDDEN. The following articles of food are improper for- a healthy child under four years of age in 'all circumstances. Nearly all of them should be. prohibited : iri tho case of children under seven years:— , Meats—Hani, sausage, pork in all forms, salt" fish, corned, beef, goose, duck, game, kidney, liver and bacon, meit stews, fried meat, and-dressings from'roasted meats. .: Vegetables—Those especially objectionable aro, cucumbers; radishes, 'green corn, and raw tomatoes. Nearly as bad aro cabbage 'and raiv; celery or onions. Stowed or fried potatoes-, and cooked tomatoes .are. not to: be recommended. Bread and CakerT-AlI .hot broad; biscuits," or rolls; ,ill griddle cakes; all:sweet cakes; particularly those containing ' dried fruits and those heavily frosted. . ' • ..Desserts—All nuts, sweets, dried fruits; all canned or preserved fruits; tarts,' and pastry of every description. Drinks—Tea, coffee, wine, beer, soda water, and .'cider.'." Fruits—Bananas; all fruits' out of season; all stale, fruits, particularly in cities and during the summer. Grapes aro objectionable only on account of tho seeds.* [See "Training Habits!' below.] With, most of the other fruits it is the excess in quantity,which makes them injurious.

GENERAL RULES FOR FEEDING. Learning to oat proper tilings in a proper way forms a largo' part of a child's early education..- If careful training in .these m'attersis begun at tho oujset and continued, the results will well repay the time and effort required, A child who has been trained to cat properly can usually be trained to do anything else that is important. \ ■ . Whether the child feeds himself or is fed by tho .ilurse, the following rules should be observed:— 1.; Food at regular hours only; nothing' between meals.' 2. Plenty of time should be taken. On no account, should the child bolt his food. 3. The child must be taught to chew his food.. Yet no ; matter how much pains are taken in this respect, niastification is vory imperfectly donirby all children; * [See "Training Habits", below.] hence up to the seventh year-at least, all meats should be very finely cut,, all vegetables mashed to a pulp, and all grain's cooked very soft. -4. G'hildrons should not be continually urged to oat; if they arc. disinclined to do so at thqir regular hours of feeding, or if the appetite is habitually poor, and under; no circumstances should a child be forced to eat. 5.; Indigestible food should never be given to tempt the appetite when the ordinary simple food is, refused; food should riot be allowed,betweon meals because it is refused, at meal-time. ' • G. ,Ono serious objection to allowing young children highly-seasoned food—entrees, jellies, pastry, ; sweets, , etc.—even in such small amounts as not to upset the digestion, is that children thus indulged soon lose appetite for tho simple food which previously was taken with,' relish. ' \ ; ' , 7.,1f thero is any important articlo of a simple diet such as milk, meat, cereals, or. vegetables which- a child habitually refuses, this .'should always be given first- at the meal and-other .food withheld until it is disposed of. • so readily form habits ->f eating only certain tilings and refusing others that 'such an inclination should bo checked earlv.. . Bi,:if an infant refuses its food altogether, or,, takes less than usual, tho food should bo examined to seo if this is right.. Then the mouth should be inspected to seo if it is sore. -.If neither of these things is the causo, the food ishould bo taken away and not offered again until the next feeding time comes. 9,. In any acute illness tho amount of food should bo much reduced and tho food made morc'jlilute than usuhl. If there is fever, no solid 'food should he given. If tho child is already upon a mill: diet, this should be diluted, and in some eases , partially peptoniscd. 10. In very hot weather the same rules hold—to give less food, particularly iess solid

;> TRAINING HABITS. Wo feel bound to dissent from Professor Holt's view that all children of necessity masticato their food very imperfectly. The majority can be taught to masticate thoroughly at a very early ago, and this habit Onco 'ingrained and established will continue and inereaso in strength if tactfully fostered by the precept and oxamplo of parents and nurses. Tho judicious training of the senses and'the creation and building lip of healthful habits at. the diiwn of lifo until they hncomo as dominant and compulsive as tho instincts of tho'.lower ■ animals .aro among tho most important and interesting aspects of the caro of children. Thus a very young child who has 'been habituated to appreciate pleasant smolls and to disliko and shun foul ones, 1o appreciate puro, fresh air and to shun foul air, will open a window as if by instinct when placed in a closo, stuffy room. Similarly a child trained to romovo or reject hard, unsuitable objects from food, such as the seeds J

of oranges or grapes, will soon come to do so as if by instinct and will not Gwallow fish boms il thoy accidentally enter tho mouth. If, instead of always taking away tho seeds, it is pointed out from time to time that thero is a pip in a particular spoonful of orangcjuicc and that this must bo removed from tho mouth, the seuso of appreciation in this direction will be trained and developed through tho sense of sight and tho intelligence, and the muscles involved in tho act of rejection will bo trained also. On the other hand, if the parents do everything themselves to safeguard tho child, and' do. not train its own sonses and muscles to safeguard itself, thero will bo no proper automatic protective development. A child of two or three years of ago can easily bo trained to thoroughly masticate aiid to eat slowly vegetables or a bit of ripe, raw applo. Further, it can be trained to gnaw a bor.e and to chow what it succeeds in tearing or biting off. The effects of such exorcise on the jaws, teeth, muscles, etc., are obvious, but there is an equally important effect on the development of primitive intelligence, confidence,' and self-depend--011 CO.

Tho fostering of sound, regular, hygionic organic habits and sclf-reliancc at the earliest possible ago not only establishes such habits for life, and promotes tho growth of the parts immediately, concerned, as well ?s the health of the body generally, but will also manifest its influence on higher planes. Tendencies trained early into tho very tissue and structure of the simpler and more primitive vital organs will assort themselves later on in assisting tho development and functioning of tho most complex and peculiarly human parts of the organism upon which character, control, and ccnd-act to a largo extent depend.