OUR BABIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24414, 27 September 1940, Page 10

OUR BABIES

By Hygeia Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket Society). " It is wiser to put up a fence at the top oj a precipice than to maintain an ambulance at the bottom." SUGGESTIONS FOR THE FEEDING OF THE TODDLERS From 18 Months Onwards. . The mother must plan wisely and cook well, with knowledge and discrimination in her choice of foodstuffs. Some contain more elements for growth than others, and it is important that she does not overcook or throw away .the good in the food. The use of vegetable parchment cooking paper, double steamers, and casseroles should be encouraged, a s the essential goodness in the lood is then retained. Regularity is still as important as for the three-month-old baby. Three meals a day, no pieces of any sort or milk between meals; only water or fruit juice to drink between meals. Remember the importance of ample exercise for jaws and teeth, and consequently the great need for giving a large part of the diet in the form of hard, tough, or dry foods. Give the dry foodstuffs in a dry state and the fluid as drink rather than combine the two to make pap fcod. For instance, oatcake or brown bread and butter with milk to drink is better for health and digestion than gruels and bread and milk. Do not forget the importance of the daily use of fresh fruit and vegetables, especially of some uncooked fruits and green vegetables such as spinach and lettuce. The child who i s having a well-balanced diet does not need an unlimited supply of milk. Qne to one and a-quarter pints daily is ample including that used in cooking, and the amount varying according to whether meat. fish, or eggs are given as well.

Tea and coffee are as harmful to children as ample pure water is necessary and good. Light meats, such as chicken, brains, and sweetbreads, may be given in small quantities, but there is a general tendency to give too much too early. Ample ' flesh-forming foods can be given in the form of milk, eggs, and fish. The undue use of preserved and tinned foods is damaging to the health. The practice of sweet-eating should be wholly condemned as being ruinous to teeth and digestion. After 18 months a wider range of food is permissible. The use of hard and dry foods should be increased and include oven-dried wholemeal bread and oatcake. Give a pint of scalded milk daily and enough water for drinking. .Encourage the child to drink fruit and vegetable juices, raw and cooked. Machines for extracting juices can be obtained from the large hardware shops. Fruit.—Give some raw .fruit daily, apples and oranges being safest and best, though if fresh, sound, and ripe any of the ordinary fruits will do. Seeded fruits such as gooseberries, raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries must be given cautiously and only in strict moderation, as they tend to cause diarrhoea. Bananas and pear s need to be given sparingly, too, as they are soft, and the child tends to bolt them without sufficient mastication. To avoid this such fruits should be mashed and used in sandwiches, ensuring plenty of chewing. Cooked fruits should be prepared with dates, raisins or honey for sweetening purposes. In winter, when fresh fruits other than apples or oranges are hard to get, the use of some dried fruits such as peaches, apricots, and . prunes may be /-sed: also dates 'and raisins are valuable fruits at all times. Vegetables.— Increase the use of vegetables, which must be given at the mid-day meal every day. Add .0 the list tender green and root vegetables—Brussels sprouts, asparagus tips, peas, marrow, tomatoes, onions, kumeras, etc. As soon as a child chews properly introduce a little raw vegetable. Finely chopped lettuce or parsley sprinkled on the potato is a good way to commence and will "condition" the child to the taking of more raw vegetable salads later on. Meats.-—Choice may be made from brains, chicken rabbit, or sweetbreads. Fish.—Sea fish and shell fish are important foods, and should be included in the diet about twice a week in the place of meat or eggs. Oysters are particularly valuable, and may be eaten raw or cooked. Sole, flounder whiting, and cod are also suitable. Fish should be steamed or baked. Puddings—A milk pudding every day is not necessary if a child is drinking one pint of milk daily, but if the required amount is not taken in drinks puddings should be given. • Junket, custard (baked or steamed) Spanish cream, milk jelly, and baked brown rice are suitable puddings, also jellies made with fruit juices and fruit salads. A Day's Menu for the Two-year-old Early morning drink of water or diluted fruit juice. Breakfast <7-30 to 8 a.m.).—A slice and a-half of crisp wholemeal toast, buttered; four to five tablespoonfuls of wholemeal or oatmeal porridge or dry cereal with milk or stewed fruit; cup of milk (6oz); piece of raw, ripe apple to complete meal. Dinner (12 to 12.30 p.m.).—One egg. or steamed or baked fish, brains, chicken, rabbit, or sweetbreads, one flat tablespoonful with one teaspoonful of melted butter; a potato, baked or steamed in its jacket; green vegetable and other vegetable, one tablespoonful each; fruit salad or stewed fruit, one to two tablespoonfuls; piece of raw. ripe apple. (Gravy may be made from vegetable water, to which marmite may be added.) N.B.—lf the child ha s a good appetite and takes all mixed foods well, it may not be necessary to give milk to drink

at dinner; otherwise give 3oz to 4oz of milk. Tea (4.30 to 5 p.m.) .—Wholemeal bread sandwiches, with fillings made from nuts (minced), dates, raisins, lettuce, tomato, chopped parsley, marmite, or finely grated cheese; drink of milk (7oz to 8oz); raw, ripe apple or piece of lettuce to complete meal,