OUR BABIES

Wairarapa Times-Age, 7 December 1939, Page 10

OUR BABIES

Published under the auspices of the Royal New Zealand ’ Society for the Health of Women and Children (Plunket t Society.) “It is wiser to put up a fence at Lhe top of a precipice than to maintain an . ambulance at the bottom.” SHOULD CHILDREN HAVE 1 SWEETS? > Time and again we are asked this , question, and we would present this , article in the hope that parents will have a better understanding why we . do not advocate the giving of sweets to children. Lately the condition “acidosis” has been mentioned as a nursery complaint, and as a part of the treatment for this is an increase of pure sugar, mothers query whether it would not be a preventive measure to be more liberal with the sugar bowl and the sweet shop from the beginning. The question arises as to whether children are not being stinted in their ration of this important energy-giving food, and whether this modern trend of not allowing them sweets is not the cause of this particular trouble. It is not our purpose in this article to go into the question of acidosis, its prevention and treatment. The standard before us must always be that of the normal. We should not expect our children to have any difficulty in the digestion of a normal amount of fat, for instance. If such difficulty should arise, then we must take out-of-the-ordinary precautions. The great majority of children take a well-balanced diet without any such difficulty. The question is, then, should these normal children have sweets —once a day, once a week, or if they have been good, or when they ask for them, or if an adoring aunt or uncle seeking favour should arrive with an offering of chocolates or some such sweetmeat? As most of us know, the three chief elements in food are carbohydrate, fat, and protein. The name carbohydrate is used to cover two big groups, that of sugars and of starches. Most sugars are quickly absorbed into the blood stream, and so an excess of sugar would prove a serious matter if the blood became over-satured. Starches have to be converted into sugar in the process of digestion. This sugar then reaches the blood stream more slowly and in lesser quantities in proportion to the satisfaction of the appetite. Let us take breast milk as a stand-1 ard for judging, and we find that a child needs four or five times as much sugar or starch as he does of protein, and almost twice as much as he does of fat. But does not the toddler get this? How much of the protein foods (egg. fish, milk) does he get in proportion to the starchy foods, such as twice-baked bread, cereals, potatoes, and othex- vegetables? Don’t forget that every form of starch turns to sugar in the body. The digestive juices necessary for; the conversion of starches are not developed in the young baby, so he cannot be expected to deal with such foods. But from the time these juices are ready we steadily decrease the ration of soluble sugar and increase that of the starch (cereal jellies and crusts). When we do give sugar it is best given in the form of fresh dried fruits and honey.

Having considered these points, what, then, should be our attitude to the giving of sweeis? The nursery ideal would be “No sweets allowed." but in many instances a compromise is inevitable. An occasional sweet given at meal times may be better than making the children self-conscious or rebellious But if children are not accustomed to seeing sweets about, they will not think of them, especially if their ration of fruit be a liberal one. When sweets are given, the plain boiled variety, such as barley sugar (made by a reliable firm) is best. Above all, do not give sweets in between meals, at bedtime, or as a form of bribe or reward taking the place of true discipline. The child who continually teases for sweets is developing the habit of self-indulgence and laying the foundation of building a poor character. Those parents who give their children chocolate because “it is nourishing,” are confessing that the manner of dieting their family is at fault. The average child should get all he needs for building good bone, muscles, and tissues from a plain mixed menu, and concentrated extras will defeat their own end by making the child faddy and spoiling the appetite and palate for plainer and more healthgiving foods. At this stage we must whole-heartedly condemn the practice of sprinkling sugar over the food to be eaten. Cereals and such foods need no added sugar. Fruits should be cooked with just enough sugar to be made palatable, and if the child has not been made familiar with the habit of transferring some of the contents of the sugar bowl to his food, he will not have his appetite perverted. Indeed, it would be better if the sugar bowl did not make its appearance on the meal table at all. Plenty of good sugars are available for the child in raisins, dates, fruits, honey, etc. In conclusion, let no parents imagine that the normal child is going to miss anything for his ultimate good if he never has a sweet in his life, and to remember that nothing is so bad for the teeth and helps to lead to early decay as the continual sucking of sweets.