THE FEEDING OF CHILDREN[17]
“We are what we eat.”
“We should eat to live and not live to eat.”
“Heavenly Father, for this food,
We, Thy children, thank Thee.
Sun and showers and earth have wrought it,
Labors of our neighbors brought it.
May it give us strength to love
And serve Thee and our neighbor.”
One of the most important factors in the well-being of any individual
is right feeding in childhood, especially in early childhood. One of
the chief causes of sickness and death among young children is their
wrong feeding. A conservative estimate would be two thousand ill
on any one day from this cause. Further, wrong feeding weakens the
system so the child is much more susceptible to infectious diseases.
Not only the general health of the individual but also the quality
of the teeth, the efficiency of the digestive system, the desire
for stimulants, the stability of the nervous system, the quality of
mental activity, power of will, strength of character, the happiness
or misery of everyday living, are profoundly affected by the foods
and régime of feeding during childhood.
The intelligence of the mother or the nurse, the grandmother, the
father, and the friend has far more to do with the right feeding of
children than does the amount of the family income. The child in
the wealthy home is quite as liable to be wrongly fed as the child
in the poor home. It is possible to buy enough of the right kinds of
nourishing foods for a very small sum.
To feed a child so as to produce one hundred per cent. efficiency
in his health to-day and fifty years from to-day should be the
ambition of every one who has the care of that child,—not merely to
keep him from death or present illness. This is not an easy matter,
nor to be learned in a day or a month. It requires careful and
earnest study of food composition, food values, the physiology of
digestion, dietetics, cooking; and then patience, thoroughness, and
practicability to put this knowledge into use three to five times a
day, seven days in the week, every week in the year.
The Fundamental Principles of Feeding
=Cleanliness and Purity.= The following standards are necessary to
meet these requirements.
1. Unadulterated foods. Foods unwholesome because of adulteration
include:
a. Canned goods preserved with benzoate of soda or other artificial
preservative
b. Candies, jams, pickles, containing coal-tar dyes and other
adulterants
c. Sulphur-bleached dried fruits and molasses
d. Bakery goods made with preserved eggs, milk, and other
adulterants
2. Protection from dust, dirt, and insects. Dry foods, such as bread,
crackers, dates, figs should be kept wrapped in moisture-proof
paper. Butter, bakery goods, and dried fruits not so wrapped should
be kept under glass. Fruits and vegetables should be kept within
doors, protected from dogs and cats. Milk, which is most easily
contaminated, should be produced in a clean dairy, by clean workers,
kept covered constantly, protected from animals, in a cool place.
3. Preparation under sanitary conditions. Bakeries and other food
factories and kitchens should be scrupulously clean, with abundance
of fresh air and sunlight. All persons handling food should be free
from any contagious disease, with clean hands and garments. This
factor is even more important than freedom from adulteration.
It is easily possible to-day to ascertain what products meet the
pure food requirements. By careful purchasing, and the preparation
and serving of food at home by healthy individuals, with intelligent
attention to sanitation, these essential requirements of hygiene can
be most completely assured.
=Regularity.= Meals should be served promptly at _regular_ hours,
and _no food taken between meals_. If food is taken irregularly,
rhythm is disturbed, the digestive fluids are not ready and cannot
act efficiently. If food is taken while undigested food remains in
the stomach, the work of digestion must begin over again, as the
fluids secreted in the early stage of digestion are different from
those in the last stages. Thus the food previously taken is kept in
the stomach too long; it ferments, too much acid is produced, sour
stomach results, the stomach is irritated, the glands are overworked
and become exhausted, and the consequence is poor digestion. To do
its best work, the stomach requires rest between feedings.
During sleep, the activity of the digestive tract is very slow.
Solid food taken less than an hour or two before bedtime is not
well digested and is likely to remain in the stomach and ferment;
the pressure produces disturbed sleep and “bad dreams”; the stomach
is not ready for digesting breakfast; the individual wakens tired,
without appetite, and possibly with headache or nausea. Babies,
having only milk, can be fed at bedtime. With children two to six
years, an hour should intervene between the light supper and sleep;
with older children, from two to four hours.
If a child is regularly hungry between meals, the cause may be (a)
insufficient quantity at meals; (b) diet not well balanced—frequently
insufficient mineral foods; (c) eating too rapidly so that food is
not well chewed and therefore not assimilated; (d) too long intervals
between meals. If occasionally hungry between meals, light food
requiring little digestion should be given, such as fruit juice, ripe
fruit, dates, figs, or a glass of milk. Cake, cookies, candies, or
other hearty foods upset digestion.
=Simplicity.= This applies both to the variety served at one meal, to
the method of preparation, and to the serving. A maximum of five or
six food items at one meal is sufficient, and is more easily digested
than a greater number. Foods simply cooked require less work of the
digestive organs than do more complex mixtures; at the same time they
cultivate simple tastes, with their contentment.
=Cheerfulness.= Good cheer is the best of appetizers. Professor
Pawlow has discovered that the amount and the efficiency of the
gastric juice are affected by the anticipation and enjoyment of food,
and that the gastric juice thus poured out at the beginning of a
meal, which he has called the “appetite juice”, is the most powerful
and active. Happiness and laughter (but not silliness or horseplay)
should therefore be encouraged at meals.
A child should not be fed when excited, angry, cross, crying,
unhappy, or overtired. Under emotional stress no gastric or
intestinal juices are formed, and food cannot be digested. When a
child is very tired, the system is too exhausted to do the work of
digestion, and nitrogenous foods (such as meat or eggs) taken then
are positively harmful, as they only decay. If at mealtime a child is
cross simply because he is hungry, feeding will help put him in a
happy mood, conducive to digestion. Otherwise, it is better to give
only a small quantity of easily digested food, such as fruit juice,
thin gruel, vegetable broth, toast, milk.
=Sufficiency.= This applies to the total quantity of energy and fuel
foods, or what is technically called caloric sufficiency; and to the
quantity and proportions of each of the food elements, technically
called a balanced ration. Careful studies of dietetic needs have
been made within the last ten years, and the approximate needs and
conditions for different ages are now so well defined that adequate
feeding need no longer be mere guess-work.
=Caloric Sufficiency.= A calorie is the measure of a unit of heat
as an inch is a measure of a unit of space. One calorie[18] of
heat is the amount that will raise the temperature of a pint of
water 4° Fahrenheit. The amount of a given food, as of bread, that
would furnish this much of heat when digested in the body is a
one-calorie portion of bread,—1/10 ounce, or a half-inch cube. The
total caloric requirement depends upon the amount of bodily heat
and muscular energy needed by an individual. This will depend upon
the individual’s (1) weight, (2) age, (3) occupation, (4) health,
(5) climate. The amount of outdoor life, clothing, the temperament,
height, and personal idiosyncrasies will require individual
variations from the average.
Daily Energy Requirements During Growth.
Part of this energy is needed to carry on the vital processes, such
as circulation, secretion, digestion; during the waking hours, energy
is needed for every muscular action, such as walking, dressing,
talking, exercising.
==================+=======================+==================
| CALORIES PER POUND OF |
AGE IN YEARS | NORMAL BODY WEIGHT | CALORIES PER DAY
——————————————————+———————————————————————+——————————————————
Under 1 year | 50-45 | 280-900
1-2 | 45-40 | 900-1200
2-5 inclusive | 40-35 | 1200-1500
6-9 ” | 35-30 | 1400-2000
10-13 ” | 30-25 | 1800-2200
14-17 ” | 25-20 | 2300-3000
18-25 ” | 16-18 | 2000-3400
==================+=======================+==================
=Proportions of Food Elements.= To furnish what is termed a “balanced
ration”, the protein, carbohydrate, and fat should each constitute,
in the total calories for the day, approximately the following
proportions: protein 10 to 15 per cent., carbohydrate 50 to 60 per
cent., fat 25 to 35 per cent. To some extent the fat and carbohydrate
are interchangeable, but a great excess of fat or carbohydrate
produces indigestion, and great insufficiency of fat starves the
nerves. Each gram (about 1/28 ounce) of protein or carbohydrate
furnishes four calories of heat; each gram of fat furnishes nine
calories. Without sufficient protein, the child will not increase in
growth. An excess of protein is no less injurious, as it cannot be
stored in the body, but must be eliminated. Especially injurious is
an excess of proteins containing purin-bodies, which produce urea
and uric acid, thereby causing forms of kidney disease, gout, and
rheumatisms. Excess of food, combined with sluggish elimination,
produces putrefaction and fermentation in the intestine, resulting
in auto-intoxication from the poisonous gases and chemicals, thereby
inducing irritability, nervousness, languor, low resistance to germ
diseases, colds.
In childhood and maternity a purin-free diet and one least likely to
produce auto-intoxication is especially important.
A sufficient proportion of minerals is no less essential to life and
health, although these are needed in minute quantities. Research
in physiological chemistry has only recently discovered the vital
significance of minerals. The quantities needed in childhood are not
yet exactly known. Not only the bones and teeth but each cell and
fluid requires mineral matter. The digestion and assimilation of
food, the absorption of oxygen and the elimination of carbonic acid
gas by the blood, the normal action of the heart, the generation
of energy, the sensitiveness and reaction of the nerves, are all
dependent upon the mineral supply in the system. There are no less
than twelve, the principal ones being calcium, phosphorus, iron,
soda, potash, sulphur. Calcium (lime) is especially needed for bones
and teeth, phosphorus for growth and for nerve cells, iron for red
blood corpuscles, soda for elimination of carbonic acid gas. The
daily requirements for a man are:
Lime .7 gram; Phosphorus 2.75 grams; Iron .015 gram.
The allowance for a child should probably approximate this, and
growing children probably need more of lime and phosphorus.
Minerals supplied to the body in vegetable and animal tissues or
fluids have in some way been vitalized and made organic, so they
are readily assimilated by the system. Mineral matter as dug from
the earth and purchased at the drugstore is inorganic and is not
assimilated either so thoroughly or readily.
Vitamines are equally essential in the food. These are subtle organic
substances, as yet little understood, but necessary for perfect
assimilation. Cooking, especially at a high temperature or for a
long period, usually diminishes the vitamines in foods. This is one
special objection to boiled, condensed, and powdered milk, patent
baby foods, canned vegetables, canned, dried and salted meats.
Children kept exclusively on such foods and boiled water do not
thrive. Such a diet produces scurvy. Some fresh, uncooked food, such
as raw milk, uncooked fruit or fruit juices, uncooked vegetables, is
needed every day.
Laxative elements are also essential. These are (a) cellulose, found
in the husk of whole wheat, and the fibers of vegetables and fruits;
(b) water, found in milk, vegetables, and fresh or stewed fruits; (c)
oil, found in cream, olive oil, and fatty nuts; (d) sugars, found in
honey, molasses, dried fruits; (e) vegetable acids, found in fruits.
Hard foods, requiring work of the jaws, are needed every day,
especially from nine months to seven years of age, while the first
and second teeth are coming. Hard foods exercise and develop the jaws
and teeth, and promote a good circulation through the jaws, mouth,
and nose. They may be supplied by a chicken or chop bone wiped free
of the cooked meat, or after nine months by hard crust, hard toast,
zwieback, or educator crackers, given at one or two meals every day.
Soft, mushy foods as a steady diet are injurious, not only because
they fail to supply the needed exercise and circulation, but also
because they cling to the teeth, and by fermenting produce their
early decay.
Foods containing growth-producing principles are needed daily. Little
is yet known of this factor. Some foods that, according to their
chemical composition, would be considered valuable for growth, have
been found on experimentation to be lacking in growth-producing
properties; among these are corn, bacon, gelatine. Other foods have
marked growth-producing results, and among these are milk, butter,
eggs, whole wheat.
=Foods Permissible for Children at Different Ages.= Add each new
food gradually, beginning with a mere taste and observing whether
it agrees. Eggs, especially white, should be added cautiously, and
discontinued if they cause swelling, indigestion, or diarrhea.
Raw fruits must be selected with great care, neither overripe nor
underripe, nor swallowed in lumps; they are prohibited in diarrhea.
10 months:
Milk
Oatmeal or whole wheat jelly
Rice or barley jelly
Zwieback, hard toast
Strained spinach
Prune juice, prune pulp
Orange juice, strained, diluted
Gelatine
12 to 15 months, add:
Baked potato
Junket
Egg yolk hard-boiled, grated
Coddled egg (½)
½ egg (raw) beaten in milk
Vegetable broth with purée of potato, carrot, or spinach
Stale whole wheat bread
Wheatsworth crackers
Olive oil
Cottonseed oil
White grape juice
Chicken bone or chop bone, cooked, meat scraped and wiped off
15 to 18 months, add:
Rice boiled or steamed (cooked 3 to 6 hours)
Oatmeal gruel (cooked 6 to 12 hours)
Butter
Baked apple (pulp)
Date pulp
Custards
18 to 24 months, add:
Purée (strained) of fresh peas, dried peas, celery, onions, corn
Hominy (ground) cooked 12 hours
Tapioca thoroughly cooked
Scraped raw apple
Ripe raw peach
Strained honey
Stewed dried peaches, mashed
2 to 3 years, add:
Young tender peas or lima beans, mashed
Asparagus tips, stringless beans, chopped fine
Tender carrots, beets, celery, minced fine
Mashed potatoes
Whole wheat breakfast cereal, corn meal, corn bread, bran muffins,
macaroni
Poached egg
Stewed pear, mashed
Stewed chopped figs
Apple sauce
Oatmeal crackers
Purple grape juice
3 to 4 years, add:
Vegetables, diced
Sweet potatoes, mashed
Raw, grated carrots
Cornflakes
Shredded wheat
Seedless grape pulp
Grape fruit
Ground almonds, pecans, filberts
4 to 6 years, add:
Purée of dried beans, lentils
Heart of tender celery (raw or stewed)
Minced, tender lettuce
Stewed tomatoes
Stewed apricots, strawberries
Whole cooked prunes
Whole dates, figs (sterilized)
Ripe banana, scraped and mashed, or cooked
(occasionally)
Peppermints
Ice cream
Gingerbread
Sponge cake, molasses or sugar cookie
6 to 8 years, add:
Eggs scrambled or omelet
American cheese (cooked)
Cottage cheese
Oysters (cooked)
Lentils, dried Lima beans
Raw tomatoes, cress
Peanut butter
Seedless raisins, chopped
Simple preserves, marmalade, jam
Raw pears, strawberries, raspberries
Cantaloupe, watermelon
Simple layer or loaf cake
=Foods Injurious to Children.= Never to be given under twelve years
of age; not advised for any age.
Stimulants: Coffee, tea, beer, wine. These furnish no food value
but stimulate the heart and leave serious poisons that injure
kidneys, liver, stomach, and nerves.
Condiments: Pepper, mustard, catsup, vinegar, pickles, horseradish.
These are irritating to the delicate lining of the stomach; they
overstimulate the appetite; they have no food value. Excess of
acids extracts needed mineral from the body.
Meats: Pork roast or chops, ham, sausages, canned or dried meats
and fish, corned beef, sweetbreads, kidneys, game. All are
difficult of digestion.
[Illustration: Some Foods Especially Dangerous for Children Under Six.
Peanuts, ice-cream cones, soda water, baked beans, raw cucumbers,
popcorn.]
[Illustration: Poisons for Little Children.
Not for vitality, beauty, clear thinking at any age.]
Pastry: Pie, tarts, dumplings, cream puffs. The combination of fat
and starch makes these difficult of digestion.
Rich Foods: Rich cake, puddings, sauces, preserves, and conserves.
Excess of sugar or fat overtaxes the digestion and also spoils the
appetite for simple, wholesome foods.
Fried Foods: Fried meat, potatoes, eggs; fritters, doughnuts,
waffles, pancakes, French toast. Fat so combined with starch or
protein delays, even prevents, digestion. Starch requires longer
cooking than is possible in frying.
Fresh Baked (less than twenty-four hours old): Bread, rolls,
muffins, cake. Rolls or muffins may be served warm by re-heating in
oven. Fresh bread or cake forms a sticky mass, very difficult for
the digestive juices to dissolve or penetrate.
Not permissible for children under six years:
All difficult of digestion.
Popcorn
Soda water
Ice cream cones
Peanuts
Baked beans
Rusks
Grocery cookies
Cucumbers
Cabbage
Whole nuts
Cherries
Berries
(Some physicians also exclude all cake, candy, ice cream, jam.)
=Illnesses Produced by Wrong Feeding.= Illness may be due to one of
several causes. Wrong feeding is one fundamental cause of ill health
and a direct cause of many forms of illness. An excess or deficiency
of any one of the food elements, wrong combinations of foods, wrong
habits of feeding, lack of cleanliness or purity, improper cooking,
may all produce illness.
The general ill health and low vitality from wrong feeding may be due
to:
(a) Auto-intoxication, from putrefaction of food in the intestine
because of constipation, or from excess of purins;
(b) Excess of acid in the blood, due to excess of acid-forming
foods or deficiency of alkali-forming foods;
(c) Malnutrition or anemia, due to insufficient food, or to lack of
some food element; frequently due to lack of fats or minerals.
While the exact relation between wrong feeding and some of the
specific forms of illness is still a moot question, some of the
probabilities now tentatively held by many physicians may be
indicated in a general way, as in the following table:
“Colds”:
Overfeeding, especially of protein or sugar
Colic:
Irregular feeding
Overfeeding
Food taken too rapidly
Constipation:
Lack of fruits and green vegetables
Lack of cellulose
Lack of water
Irregular feeding
Convulsions:
Solid food at too early age
Food difficult to digest
Constipation
Gastric indigestion (nausea):
Indigestible combinations, _e.g._ fried foods, milk with acids
Excess of sugar or starch
Excess of fat
Irregular feeding
Headaches:
Constipation
Indigestible combinations
Excess of sugar or purins
Intestinal Indigestion:
Excess of protein
Excess of cellulose
Excess of carbohydrates
Kidney Disorders:
Excess of purins
Excess of acid-forming foods
Excess of salt
Excess of sugar
Nervousness:
Irregular feeding
Auto-intoxication
Constipation
Excess of acid-forming foods
Excess of sugar or meat
Insufficient fats
Insufficient minerals
Rheumatism:
Excess of purins
Deficiency of minerals
Rickets:
Lack of vitamines
Lack of minerals
Lack of fats
Scurvy:
Lack of vitamines
Lack of minerals
Summer Diarrhea:
Unclean food, especially milk
Underripe or overripe fruit
=Digestion.= In the process of digestion, foods are not broken down
into simple chemical elements, as nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, but
into simpler yet still very complex compounds, as organic minerals
(lime, phosphorus, soda), simpler sugars, fatty acids, emulsions,
soaps; and the proteins into their many forms of amino-acids and (if
these are inherent) purins and uric acid. Soluble minerals, simple
sugars, and many drugs are quickly absorbed from the stomach directly
into the circulation. Water passes into the small intestine in five
to twenty minutes. The solid portions of mother’s milk complete their
stomach digestion in about two hours, cow’s milk and other easily
digested foods in two and a half to three hours, under favorable
conditions. Digestion is continued in the small intestine, where
about four hours are required for further digestion; the soluble
portion is absorbed into the circulation, and the indigestible
remainder, with waste cell material and bile, passes into the large
intestine. There the journey is very irregular and slow, requiring
from ten to twenty hours. The longer the delay, the greater the
fermentation and putrefaction, and the accumulation of putrefactive
bacteria and poisonous gases; the poisons, which are constantly being
absorbed into the system, produce auto-intoxication. About half the
solid waste is bacteria and waste cell tissue.
=Food Composition.= Every one who is responsible for the feeding
of children should be thoroughly acquainted with the different
food substances and the composition and value of common foods. For
practical purposes of dietetics, foods are analyzed into their
content of protein, carbohydrate, fat, mineral, cellulose, water.
Some foods contain only one or two of these elements; other foods
contain them all.
1. Protein foods are those that contain nitrogen; their special use
is to build new body cells (for growth) and to replace waste of
tissue; they also furnish energy. Proteins differ in value according
to the number and the kinds of amino-acids in their composition.
Foods containing high percentage of protein:
Eggs
Milk
Cheese
Cereals
Almonds
Peanuts
Peas
Beans
Lentils
Fish
Lean meat
2. Carbohydrates (sugars and starches) furnish bodily heat and
muscular energy.
Foods containing high percentage of starch:
Potatoes
Rice
Cereals
Tapioca
Macaroni
Farina
Foods containing high percentage of sugar:
Sweet fruits
Dried fruits
Beets
Carrots
Honey
Maple Syrup
Molasses
Barley sugar
Cane sugar
Starch digestion begins in the mouth by the action of the saliva
and is completed in the intestines. Starches are changed to a form
of sugar. Excess of carbohydrates is stored in the liver or as fat
through the body.
3. Fats furnish energy and heat.
Foods containing high percentage of fat:
Cream
Butter
Egg yolk
Olive oil
Cottonseed oil
Nuts (except chestnuts)
Meat fats
4. Minerals are found in grains, in fruit, green vegetables, milk,
eggs, meat.
Calcium and phosphorus are furnished in high percentage by:
Grape juice
Orange juice
Rhubarb
Maple sap
Milk
Calcium, phosphorus, and iron are all supplied in high percentage in:
Spinach
Celery
Peas
Lima beans
String beans
Apples
Prunes
Peaches
Pears
Dates, raisins
Whole wheat
Whole cereals
Egg yolk
Lean meat (except calcium)
While milk contains only a low percentage of iron, it furnishes a
high proportion of the day’s supply in children’s diet, because of
the total quantity used.
Valuable mineral material in many fruits and vegetables is just
beneath the skin. It is dissolved into the water if these foods are
boiled. The mineral matter is conserved by baking, or stewing, or
steaming, by cooking without paring, or by using the water in which
they are boiled.
The mineral matter is in the germ and the husks of grains. Refined
foods, such as white flour and sugar, polished or puffed rice,
processed barley and corn meal, cream of wheat, cornstarch, sago,
from which the husk has been removed, have been robbed of their
mineral matter. The whole ground grains and brown sugar retain the
minerals.
5. Water, a necessary part of all tissues, constitutes about sixty
per cent. of the body weight. It promotes circulation of the blood
and other internal fluids, dissolves poisons, aids elimination of
waste through urine, feces, and perspiration. Water is best taken
half an hour before meals, and at the close. If taken with the meal,
it should be only after food in the mouth has been swallowed, that it
may not interfere with the action of the saliva upon the food. Ice in
water makes it too cold for the stomach, and unless artificial, is
apt to contain dangerous impurities. Water should be sipped, warmed
in the mouth before being swallowed, and not more than one glass
taken at a time. Water is supplied in:
Milk
Cocoa
Broths
Fruit juices
Fruits
Green vegetables
Water constitutes about 65 per cent. of meats, 80 per cent. of fish,
90 per cent. of fresh fruits and vegetables.
6. Cellulose. The indigestible cellulose and fibers in food furnish
a bulk of waste which stimulates the intestines to muscular action.
Supplied in:
Whole wheat
Whole cereals
Prunes, dates
Figs, raisins
Fibrous vegetables as celery, spinach, onions, carrots, beets,
peas, beans
Skins of apples, pears
Cellulose is lacking in concentrated foods, as cheese, nuts, sugar,
butter; refined foods, as white flour, cream of wheat, cornstarch; in
liquid foods.
Laxative Foods:
Figs
Dates
Prunes
Orange
Apple
Raisins
Peach
Plum
Rhubarb
Grapes
Whole wheat cereals
Whole wheat bread
Whole wheat crackers
Corn meal
Bran muffins
Peanut butter
Pecan nuts
Gingerbread
Molasses
Honey
Onions
Spinach
Olive oil
Cottonseed oil
=Purin Bodies in Common Foods.= Purin bodies are found in some
protein foods. Purins are uric-acid
==========================+========+=====================+=============
FOODS CONTAINING HIGH | GRAINS | FOODS CONTAINING | PURIN-FREE
PER CENT. PURINS[19] | PER | 2 GRAINS OR LESS[19]| FOODS[19]
| POUND | |
——————————————————————————+————————+—————————————————————+—————————————
Sweetbreads | 70 | Peas | Milk
Liver | 19 | Potatoes | Cheese
Kidney | | Onions | Butter
Beef | 14-7 | Carrots | Flour
Pork | 8 | Turnips | Rice
Chicken | 9 | Parsnips | Macaroni
Veal | 8 | Asparagus | Tapioca
Salmon | 8 | Rhubarb | Sugar
Halibut | 7 | Spinach | Cauliflower
Mutton | 7 | Dates | Cabbage
| | Figs | Lettuce
| | Codfish (4) | Strawberries
| | Flounder |
==========================+========+=====================+=============
forming. The poisons of purins are believed to be productive of
gout, rheumatism, migraine and periodic headaches, bilious attacks,
catarrhs, neurasthenia, and general ill-health of an indefinite
nature.
=Acid-forming and Alkali-forming Foods.= The blood contains some
acids and some alkalies. For physical efficiency, the balance should
be slightly alkaline. In the process of digestion minerals are
oxidized into their chemical constituents of acids or alkalies. An
excess of acid interferes with the normal alkalinity of the blood and
secretions, prevents the normal absorption of oxygen and elimination
of carbonic acid gas by the blood, hinders the work of the white
blood corpuscles, irritates the nerves, lowering, therefore, the
resistance and vitality, and irritates the kidneys. In the dietary,
care should be taken to include alkali as Well as acid-forming foods.
Acid-forming:[20] Alkali-forming:[20]
Meat Milk
Eggs Fruits
Grains Vegetables, especially:
Rice Spinach Lettuce
Tapioca Celery Cress
Sugar Potatoes Radishes
=The Question of Meat.= Some authorities on dietetics now advise
against giving meat in early childhood. Wiley and Mendel advise
waiting until about four years, Sherman and Lorand until about eight.
The following objections are made to meat in children’s diet:
(1) It has a high percentage of purin bodies, which the child’s
organism is less fitted to dispose of.
(2) It is acid-forming to a high degree.
(3) “Meat proteins are much more susceptible to putrefaction in the
intestine, giving rise to absorption of putrefactive products which
are more or less injurious (producing ‘auto-intoxication’) than are
the proteins of most other foods.”[21]
(4) It is stimulating to the flow of gastric juice, especially the
extractives, which are found particularly in meat juices, meat
broths, beef tea. As an acid-forming food it is stimulating, and
easily irritating, to the nerves, and therefore is disadvantageous
with nervous children, or when the nervous system is yet highly
sensitive, as it is in early childhood.
(5) Carnivorous animals, such as the cat and the dog, do not permit
their young to have meat until the teeth are developed. Meat given
experimentally to young kittens produced convulsions.
(6) It is an expensive form of protein. Beef juice contains chiefly
the stimulating extractives, and a slight quantity of iron.
(7) Protein in milk, selected vegetables, and (usually) eggs, is more
easily digested; and iron can be supplied by selected vegetables and
fruits.
The following table gives approximately the comparative value of a
100-calorie portion of beef juice (requiring 3½ pounds of lean beef)
and an equal bulk of milk.
[A] QUANTITY
[B] CALORIES
[C] PROTEIN[22]
[D] FAT[22]
[E] CARBOHYDRATES[22]
[F] LIME[22]
[G] PHOSPHORUS[22]
[H] IRON[22]
===========+==========+=====+======+======+====+======+======+======
| [A] | [B] | [C] | [D] |[E] | [F] | [G] | [H]
———————————+——————————+—————+——————+——————+————+——————+——————+——————
Beef juice | 14.1 oz. | 100 | 19.6 | 2.4 | | .015 | .46 | .003
Milk | 14.1 oz. | 276 | 13.1 | 15.9 | 20 | .649 | .832 | .0009
===========+==========+=====+======+======+====+======+======+======
The meat at twenty-two cents a pound costs seventy-seven cents; the
milk at ten cents a quart costs five cents. One pound of meat will
give little more than one fourth of this food value; one ordinary
serving (2 ounces) only 3 per cent. of the above values.
Physicians, on the other hand, more often advise meat, especially for
the iron and the stimulation to digestion.
=The Question of Sugar.= Sugar is a concentrated form of fuel food.
Children need much of fuel foods, but this can be given in the
form of fats and starches as well as sugar. Sweet easily spoils
the appetite for plain, more wholesome foods, and gives a sense
of sufficiency before the needs of the body have been satisfied.
Children whose taste has been spoiled by sweetened food are more
likely to show a distaste for wholesome vegetables. Sugar taken
between meals or in excess at meals is irritating to the sensitive
lining of the stomach. Sugar excess causes fermentation in the
stomach and intestines, overtaxes the liver, reduces the normal
alkalinity of the blood, produces nausea, headache, biliousness,
irritability, nervousness. It injures the teeth by causing mouth
acidity, which produces tooth decay, and by causing distaste for
simple lime-containing foods. The peevishness and irritability
of children after an overdose of candy is very likely due to the
indigestion and the hyperacidity of the blood, which irritates the
nerves.
Cane sugar and candy lack the mineral matter found with sugar in the
natural syrups, fruits, and vegetables. The necessary amount (and it
is small) of sugar should therefore be given to young children in the
form of fruits, at the close of the midday meal. It is advantageous
to the child’s efficiency and contentment not to have candy or ice
cream under four years of age, and he will thrive without them until
ten years. When allowed, they should be given only in slight amount
as a dessert at the close of dinner, and not between meals.
[Illustration: Wholesome Sweets at Suitable Ages.
Homemade peppermints, sweet chocolate, barley sugar, sponge cookies,
molasses cake, honey, maple syrup, prunes, figs, dates, plums,
apples, peaches.]
[Illustration: Laxative Foods.
To be selected, appropriate to age.]
Wholesome Sweets[23]
Honey
Maple syrup
Sweet fruits:
Oranges, Apples
Peaches, Plums
Seedless grapes
Dates, Figs
Seedless raisins
Prunes
Simple, pure candy
Molasses candy
Peppermint wafers
Milk chocolate
Barley sugar
Simple homemade cake
Sponge cake
Gingerbread
Molasses or sugar cookies
=Rational Dietary.= A rational dietary for children should meet the
following requirements:
1. Total calories per day, computed for the age, weight (normal);
modified by the activity, season, health, of the individual child
2. Balance of protein, fat, carbohydrate: Protein 10-15 per cent;
fat 25-35 per cent; carbohydrate 50-60 per cent.
3. Purin-free or low in purins
4. Minerals supplied, especially lime, phosphorus, iron, soda,
potash
5. Vitamines supplied by some uncooked or fresh, slightly cooked
foods
6. Laxatives furnished by cellulose, water, oils, sugars, vegetable
acids
7. Hard foods, requiring gnawing and chewing
8. No irritants or artificial stimulants, _e.g._ pepper, mustard,
vinegar, condiments, alcohol, beer, tea, coffee
9. Combination of food carefully arranged:
a. Some alkali-forming
b. Milk not served with acids, as tomatoes, oranges, apples,
apricots, peaches, lemon juice
c. Agreeable proportion of liquids and solids
d. Flavors combined that taste well together
e. Variety slight at one meal (3 to 6 items); wider range from
day to day
10. Cooking:
a. Albumen (milk, white of egg) slightly coagulated
b. Cereals and starches thoroughly cooked
c. Fats not overheated (below smoking or scorching point)
d. Fats not mixed while hot with starches or sugars (gravies,
sauces, fried foods, pastry), or with protein (fried eggs)
e. Vegetable cellulose removed, or divided, according to the
development of the digestive system of the child
Table for Hours of Feeding
==========+========+============+====================+==============
AGE | NO | INTERVALS | HOURS | ADDENDA
|FEEDINGS| | |
——————————+————————+————————————+————————————————————+——————————————
12 to 24 | | | |
months | 4-5 | 4 hours | 6, 10 A.M., 2 P.M. | Fruit juice
| | | | 8 A.M.
| | | | Dinner 2 P.M.
2 to 3 or | | | |
4 years | 4 | 4 hours | 6:30, 10 A.M., | Do.
| | | 2, 5 P.M. |
3 or 4 to | | | |
9 years | 3 | 4½- | 7:30 A.M., | Fruit juice
| | 5 hours | 12, 5 P.M. | 6:30 A.M.
| | | | Dinner 12 M.
| | | | Milk or fruit
| | | | 3:30 P.M.
After 9 | | | |
years | 3 | 4½- | 7:30 A.M., | Do.
| | 5½ hours | 12, 6 P.M. |
==========+========+============+====================+==============
Differences of social, economic, and climatic conditions will
naturally lead to differences of usual rising hour and general
day’s régime. The above schedule is consistent with the environment
represented in the daily schedule on pages 124, 125.
A special schedule should be made out for the individual child,
according to his environment and special needs. Certain fundamental
principles must be followed, in varying this schedule. (1) Regular
times for meals; (2) intervals between meals; (3) heaviest meal at
midday; (4) interval before bedtime; (5) interval before bath.
To make out a dietary for a given individual.
1. To compute the total calories required for one day, (a) take
the normal weight for the age, sex, height (see appendix), and (b)
multiply this by the calories required per pound of body weight.
(Table, page 160.)
Use the minimum calories for youngest, maximum for oldest in each age
group. A child of active temperament requires more calories than a
phlegmatic child of same age and weight. Factors indicating a liberal
allowance of calories are outdoor life, cold weather, vigorous
exercise, or a child under normal weight. A smaller allowance is
indicated by indoor life, little activity, hot weather, or a child
over normal weight.
2. Compute the number of these total calories for protein (15 per
cent. of total calories), fat (25-35 per cent.), carbohydrates (50-60
per cent.).
3. Make out a tentative day’s dietary, in 100-calorie portions,
and add or deduct portions until the total of computed calories is
approximated; a difference not to exceed 10 per cent. is allowable.
(Table, page 160.)
4. Analyze these portions (see appendix), and compare with computed
amounts (2 above) for balance of protein, fat, carbohydrate.
Differences not to exceed ten per cent. are allowable. For compound
foods, as custard, purée, analyze each of the ingredients.
5. Analyze for lime, phosphorus, iron.
6. Check for alkali-forming foods, vitamines, laxatives, hard foods.
7. Divide into meals. The heaviest meal should come in the middle of
the day.
8. Note the method of preparation suited to the development and
condition of the individual.
The making of a well-balanced and organized dietary for a day
requires several hours of careful calculating. It is therefore the
part of wisdom, as well as economy of energy, to carefully make out
a dietary for six or seven days, that there may be balance in each
day’s ration, and a wide range of variety from day to day; and to
preserve these for reference. By measuring out 100-calorie portions
of common foods for a few days, the student comes to recognize these
quickly, and the assembling of a meal comes to have all the zest of a
game.
Illustration of Method in Making out a Dietary.
Age: 4 years
Sex: Boy
Health: Robust
Height: 39 inches
Activity: Out-of-doors
Season: Winter
Temperament: Active
1. Normal weight: 35 pounds; Calories per pound: 38; Total
Calories: 1330
2. Estimated Calories: Protein, 200; Fat, 465; Carbohydrates, 665
3.-5. =Analysis of Day’s Food=
==============+==========+========+=====+=====+=====+======+======+=====
| QUANTITY | | | | | | |
FOOD |(Uncooked)|CALORIES|PROT.| FAT |CBHY.| LIME |PHOS. |IRON
——————————————+——————————+————————+—————+—————+—————+——————+——————+—————
| | | Cal.| Cal.| Cal.|Grams |Grams |Grams
Grape juice | 5 T | 75 | | | 75 | .016 | .03 |
Milk | 1½ pt. | 500 | 95 | 260 | 145 |1.195 |1.515 |.0017
Oatmeal | 1 T | 25 | 4 | 2 | 19 | .007 | .054 |.0002
Bread | | | | | | | |
(whole wheat)| 2 slice | 200 | 30 | 10 | 160 | .032 | .32 |.0012
Butter | 1½ cube | 150 | 1 | 149 | | .004 | .006 |
Crackers | | | | | | | |
(Wheatsworth)| 1 | 25 | 4 | 5 | 16 | .004 | .061 |.0003
Rice | 1 T | 50 | 5 | | 45 | .004 | .085 |.0004
Potato | ½ med. | 50 | 6 | | 44 | .009 | .083 |.0007
Peas (fresh) | 2 T | 50 | 14 | 2 | 34 | .016 | .12 |.0008
Egg | 1 | 74 | 24 | 50 | 0 | .044 | .175 |.0014
Apple sauce | 1 apple | 100 | 3 | 7 | 90 | .022 | .05 |.0005
Dates | 3 | 50 | 1 | 4 | 45 | .01 | .01 |.0005
——————————————+——————————+————————+—————+—————+—————+——————+——————+—————
| | 1349 | 187 | 489 | 673 |1.363 |2.509 |.0079
==============+==========+========+=====+=====+=====+======+======+=====
6.-7. Feedings, 4. Hours, 7:30, 10:00 A.M., 12:00; 5:00 P.M.
Day’s menu: (See menu for child 2 to 4 years, page 181).
8. Method of preparation: For first teeth; vegetables diced; whole
dates, prunes.
Typical Menus For Different Ages[24]
I. Twelve to Fifteen Months
Calculated for 21 pounds at 45 calories = 945 calories
===============================+==========+=======+=======+======+=====
| CALORIES | VITA. | ALKA. | LAX. | HARD
———————————————————————————————+——————————+———————+———————+——————+—————
A.M. | | | | |
6:00 1½ glass warm milk | 150 | s | s | |
8:00 orange juice | 75 | s | s | s |
10:00 oatmeal jelly | 25 | | | |
1½ glass milk | 150 | s | s | |
½ t top milk | 5 | s | s | |
P.M. | | | | |
2:00 ½ potato, baked | 25 | | s | |
1 t top milk | 15 | s | s | |
½ slice bread, toasted | 50 | | | s | s
prune pulp | 100 | s | (?) | s |
1½ glass milk | 150 | s | s | |
5:30 oatmeal jelly | 25 | | | |
1½ glass milk | 155 | s | s | |
small slice zwieback | 25 | | | | s
———————————————————————————————+——————————+———————+———————+——————+—————
Totals as analyzed | 950 | | | |
===============================+==========+=======+=======+======+=====
CALORIES GRAMS
PROT. FAT CBHY. LIME PHOS. IRON
Calculated: 142 331 473
Analyzed: 145 333 472 1.622 2.293 .0043
Vitamines may exist in some degree in slightly cooked foods.
II. Fifteen to Twenty-Four Months
Calculated for 26 pounds at 42 calories = 1092 calories
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
|CALORIES|VITA.|ALKA.|LAX.|HARD
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
A.M. | | | | |
6:00 2 glasses warm milk | 200 | s | s | |
1 Wheatsworth cracker | 25 | | | s |
8:00 orange juice | 75 | s | s | s |
10:00 oatmeal gruel | 50 | | | |
2 glasses milk | 200 | s | s | |
1-2 slice toast, whole wheat | 50 | | | s | s
P.M. | | | | |
2:00 ½ coddled egg | 37 | s | | |
¼ baked potato | 25 | | s | |
1 T spinach | 10 | s | s | s |
¼ slice bread, whole wheat | 25 | | | s |
¼ T butter | 25 | s | s | |
5:30 oatmeal gruel | 50 | | | |
½ slice toast, whole wheat | 50 | | | s | s
1 Wheatsworth cracker | 25 | | | s |
2 glasses milk | 200 | s | s | |
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
Totals as analyzed | 1047 | | | |
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
CALORIES GRAMS
PROT. FAT CBHY. LIME PHOS. IRON
Calculated: 164 382 546
Analyzed: 177 386 484 1.647 2.592 .0068
III. Two to Four Years
Calculated for 35 pounds at 38 calories = 1330 calories
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
|CALORIES|VITA.|ALKA.|LAX.|HARD
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
A.M. | | | | |
6:30 grape juice | 75 | s | s | s |
7:30 ¼ serving oatmeal | 25 | | | |
2 glasses milk | 200 | s | s | |
½ slice toast, whole wheat | 50 | | | s | s
½ T butter | 50 | s | s | |
10:00 1 glass milk | 100 | s | s | |
1 Wheatsworth cracker | 25 | | | s |
12:00 ½ potato baked | 50 | | s | |
1 T peas | 50 | | s | |
1 egg coddled | 74 | s | | |
1 T butter | 100 | s | s | |
apple sauce | 100 | | | s | s
½ slice bread, whole wheat | 50 | | | s |
P.M. | | | | |
5:00 rice (unpolished) | 50 | | | |
date pulp | 50 | s | s | s |
2 glasses milk | 200 | s | s | |
1 slice zwieback | 100 | | | s | s
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
Totals as analyzed | 1349 | | | |
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
CALORIES GRAMS
PROT. FAT CBHY. LIME PHOS. IRON
Calculated: 200 465 665
Analyzed: 187 489 673 1.363 2.509 .0079
IV. Four to Six Years
Calculated for 40 pounds at 37 calories = 1480 calories
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
|CALORIES|VITA.|ALKA.|LAX.|HARD
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
A.M. | | | | |
6:30 orange juice | 100 | s | s | s |
7:30 rice | 50 | | | |
chopped figs | 50 | s | s | s |
2½ glasses milk | 250 | s | s | |
1 slice toast, whole wheat | 100 | | | s | s
butter | 75 | s | s | |
12:00 lima beans, fresh | 50 | | s | |
2 T spinach | 25 | s | s | s |
potato, boiled in skin | 50 | | s | |
chicken | 25 | | | |
1 slice bread, whole wheat | 100 | | | s |
butter | 100 | s | s | |
2 plums | 50 | s |(?) | s |
P.M. | | | | |
5:00 ½ shredded wheat | 50 | | | s |
2½ glasses milk | 250 | s | s | |
molasses cookie, hard | 100 | | | s | s
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
Totals as analyzed | 1475 | | | |
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
CALORIES GRAMS
PROT. FAT CBHY. LIME PHOS. IRON
Calculated: 222 518 740
Analyzed: 203 481 791 1.557 2.760 .0109
[Illustration: Day’s Menu for Child Two to Four Years.]
[Illustration: Day’s Menu for Child Four to Six Years.]
V. Six to Eight Years
Calculated for 47 pounds at 33 calories = 1551 calories
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
|CALORIES|VITA.|ALKA.|LAX.|HARD
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
A.M. | | | | |
6:30 orange juice | 100 | s | s | s |
7:30 whole wheat cereal | 100 | | | s |
1½ glass milk | 150 | s | s | |
1 slice toast, whole wheat | 100 | | | s | s
½ T butter | 50 | s | s | |
soft boiled egg | 74 | s | | |
½ fig | 50 | s | s | s |
12:00 ½ portion macaroni | 50 | | | |
1 T cheese, cooked | 100 | | | |
4 T string beans | 25 | | s | |
lettuce, oil, lemon juice | 55 | s | s | s |
1 slice bread | 100 | | | s |
½ T butter | 50 | s | s | |
raw apple | 100 | s | s | s |
P.M. | | | | |
5:00 1 shredded wheat | 100 | | | s |
1 cup milk | 100 | s | s | |
1 cup custard | 150 | | | |
1 slice toast, whole wheat | 100 | | | s | s
½ T butter | 50 | s | s | |
———————————————————————————————————+————————+—————+—————+————+————
Totals as analyzed | 1604 | | | |
===================================+========+=====+=====+====+====
CALORIES GRAMS
PROT. FAT CBHY. LIME PHOS. IRON
Calculated: 233 543 775
Analyzed: 214 517 873 1.475 1.865 .0099
=Care of Food.= All food should be kept covered, protected from
dust, bacteria, insects, odors, poisonous gases (from bad drainage
in refrigerator or kitchen). Butter should be kept in oiled paper or
covered by a salted muslin cloth.
Cooked foods should be quickly and thoroughly cooled, and then
covered and kept in a cool place.
Milk requires the most painstaking care, as bacteria multiply in it
very rapidly unless it is kept cool and clean. It should be kept in
a seamless, non-rusting receptacle, covered from dust and insects
(preferably with a clean, double muslin cloth that will admit air but
keep out dust); and placed in a clean, odorless, ventilated place.
If a refrigerator or clean, cool cellar, springhouse, or well is not
available, a homemade refrigerator may be constructed, similar to
the fireless cooker, that will require little ice. Or the bottle may
be placed in a basin of cool running water and covered with a clean
muslin cloth the edges of which absorb the water; if thus placed in
a draft, the evaporation will keep the milk cool. In hot weather it
should be pasteurized for children under six years, and at other
seasons for children under four, unless certified.
Milk should preferably be bottled at the dairy for delivery. If
delivered from cans it should be exposed as little as possible to
the air and dust, the measures should be scrupulously clean, and
it should be poured at once into bottles or jars that have been
sterilized by boiling and that are covered from dust until filled. It
should be immediately covered.
If milk is delivered in bottles, provision should be made for
protecting these from dust, sun, and animals until they are brought
into the kitchen. The bottles should be well washed in cool water,
especially around the top and cover, before opening. The rim of the
bottle should be wiped with a clean cloth and the cover replaced
immediately after pouring.
Milk which has been warmed or which has stood uncovered outside the
bottle should not be poured back or used again for the children to
drink, as bacteria have multiplied in it very rapidly. It may be used
for cooking.
=Milk.= The production of milk requires the greatest cleanliness. If
a cow is kept, the dairy, utensils, methods of milking and caring for
the new milk should conform to the standards set forth in the Federal
and State Health Bulletins. If milk is purchased, inspection should,
if possible, be made of the dairy and the methods of cooling and
transportation. In the large cities, milk is now graded according to
the degree of care and the cleanliness as indicated by the bacteria
count. Certified or Grade “A” should be used for children under three
years of age. Grade “A” is preferable, but Grade “B” can be used for
children over two years. Grade “C” and loose milk are fit only for
cooking.
The milk from a herd is more uniform from day to day than from a
single cow. Holstein or Guernsey milk is preferable for children,
especially for infants, as the lower fat content and softer curds
make it more easily digested than Jersey milk.
Sterilized or condensed milk is less easily digested and less
nutritious than raw milk, and is conducive to constipation. The high
degree of heat to which they have been subjected has reduced the
vitamines and affected the protein.
Milk may spoil even before it has soured. Pasteurizing delays souring
but not spoiling. Unscrupulous dealers sometimes add preservatives
to prevent souring. Such milk is dangerous. Clean, freshly soured
milk is harmless, but should not be given to children under three
except as buttermilk. With young children and babies, buttermilk can
sometimes be retained and digested when sweet milk cannot be taken.
The special tablets containing the Bulgarian bacillus should be
used, and usually, with the whole milk, in making buttermilk for
young children. These tablets may be obtained from the druggist.
Skimmed milk has all the value of whole milk except the cream. Whey
contains the minerals, sugar and fats. Bottled commercial cream has
a very high bacteria count and should never be used for children.
Ice cream should be freshly made of fresh, pasteurized milk, with
scrupulous cleanliness.
=Principles of Cooking.= Before food can be utilized by the body, it
must be made soluble—changed into substances that are dissolved so
they can pass readily through the walls of the food tube into the
blood. In the digestive tract fats, carbohydrates, and protein must
first be separated, as different digestive fluids are provided to act
upon each of these. Cooking for children should (1) make foods easily
soluble; (2) produce little mixture of protein, carbohydrates and
fats; (3) improve the flavor, and (4) raise the temperature to about
blood heat (98° F.), when served.
The degree of development of the digestive fluids, the stomach, and
the teeth must be considered in preparing food for an individual
child. In infancy the digestive system is undeveloped, lacking in
digestive fluids, stomach small, and there is no provision for
chewing.
Until nine months of age babies do not have digestive fluids for
starch, or for protein except the curds of milk; their teeth are
not yet serviceable for chewing, and solid food of any kind is so
indigestible that it often causes convulsions, if given.
After nine months, starches thoroughly cooked and without cellulose
may be given cautiously.
All food must be easily soluble until two years of age, that is,
until enough of the first teeth have developed for adequate chewing
of soft cellulose.
For children under 18 months, cellulose and fibers strained out of
vegetables.
For children 18 months to 3 years (before first teeth are all cut)
vegetables mashed or chopped fine; coarse cellulose removed.
At three years, all the first teeth (20) should be cut, and the child
can chew the cellulose of vegetables and fruits.
For children three years (first teeth all cut) to 8 years (second
teeth partially cut) vegetables diced, whole cooked fruits.
During the first two years of second dentition (from 6 to 8 years)
the missing teeth make chewing less adequate, and care is needed
to provide easily divided food. After eight years enough of the
permanent teeth have been cut to permit fibers of meat in the diet.
=Cooking for Children.= Before beginning the preparation of food,
wash the hands thoroughly and clean the finger nails. See that all
utensils are scrupulously clean, as well as dish towels with which
they are wiped. Use agate or enamelware for all acid fruits and
vegetables, and a double boiler for milk. Do not use aluminum ware
for acids or eggs, or tin for acids, as poisonous compounds would be
formed. Taste food before serving, using a clean spoon which is not
replaced in the food but immediately washed. Keep food uncovered as
little as possible.
_Milk._ In heating milk always use a double boiler and do not let the
milk reach the boiling point. Boiling hardens the protein and makes
it difficult of digestion.
To pasteurize milk: put in sterilized bottles, stoppered with
non-absorbent cotton. Place bottles in kettle with cold water coming
to height of milk in bottles. Put cloth or paper in bottom of
kettle and between bottles, to prevent breaking. Milk is advisably
pasteurized by bringing water to 145° F. and maintaining at exactly
this temperature for thirty minutes, either turning fire low or
removing kettle from fire, leaving bottles in water for half an hour,
or placing the kettle in a fireless cooker, or covering tightly
with newspapers. Cool bottles quickly by placing in lukewarm water,
then in cold water, then on ice, or where temperature of 45° can be
maintained.
_Toast._ Use stale bread. Make in the oven, drying hard throughout,
the outside then lightly browned in gas oven or over coals or an
electric toaster.
_Dried fruits._ Sort carefully, remove blemishes, wash thoroughly
in colander. Soak overnight in water to cover; bring to boil, and
let _simmer_ with low fire or in fireless cooker until soft. Add
no sugar to prunes, dates, figs, seedless raisins, and little to
peaches, apples, apricots. California prunes should be used, as they
are sweeter and less acid. Honey may be used, instead of sugar, for
sweetening other fruits. Soda should be added to tart fruits, as
apricots. For children one to three years, make pulp by removing pits
and mashing through fine colander (not tin). For children over three,
dates and figs may be served uncooked, after thorough washing, or
sterilizing for ten minutes in a colander over steam and then drying.
_Cereals._ Cereals require a high degree of heat for the first five
or ten minutes, to burst the covering of the tiny starch cells, then
long cooking at a moderate temperature. This applies to oatmeal,
barley, wheat cereals, corn meal, samp, rice, tapioca, sago. A double
boiler should be used and, unless a coal fire is available for a long
period, a fireless cooker. The latter can be made in a few hours at a
cost of less than half a dollar, by using a wooden box with a hinged
cover, sawdust for packing, and asbestos paper for lining.
In cooking any cereal, have the water boiling in both the upper and
lower parts of the double boiler. Put the upper part directly over
the heat and let the water boil violently for a minute. Add salt in
the proportion of 1 tablespoon to one quart of water. Pour in the
cereal _very slowly_, so the boiling does not stop. Let this boil
five minutes, shaking gently, then place in boiler and put into
fireless cooker, or over low fire.
Gruel or porridge:
1 part rolled or flaked oatmeal or wheat to 2 parts water
1 part corn meal or rice to 3 parts water
1 part fine wheat or hominy, coarse oatmeal, tapioca or barley to 4
parts water
Cereal jelly is made by straining the gruel through cheesecloth or
finest wire strainer.
Cereal water is made by using a smaller proportion of cereal—from
1 to 2 tablespoons to 1 pint of water,—and straining. It may be
made from the prepared barley, wheat, oat, or rice flour, using 1
tablespoon of the flour, blended with 2 tablespoons cold water, and
proceeding then as with the whole cereal, stirring occasionally, and
cooking from thirty to sixty minutes.
Note that cereal water contains little nourishment and, unless made
from the whole grains, little mineral.
The ready-cooked oatmeals and wheat cereals should be cooked not less
than one hour for children.
The dry, ready-to-serve cereals are thoroughly dextrinized and easily
digested if well chewed, and therefore as advantageous for children
over two or three.
_Eggs._ Eggs are quite easily digested raw, strained through a fine
sieve. Raw egg is usually laxative. They should be cooked merely
until the whites begin to set and are like soft jelly. Or the grated
yolk, after boiling twenty minutes, may be used.
To soft boil. Place in boiling water which is immediately removed
from the fire; let stand eight to ten minutes. Or put into cold water
in covered saucepan; bring to boiling point and remove saucepan from
fire.
To poach. Grease the bottom of a small skillet with some fat. Put in
boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt. Drop in egg from saucer, and turn
fire low, or remove skillet. Let stand 2 to 5 minutes, until white is
set. Remove with perforated spoon or ladle. Serve on toast which has
been dipped in boiling salted water and slightly buttered.
_Cocoa._ For children four to eight years old, make cocoa weak,
using only ¼ teaspoon cocoa to a cup of milk. Blend the cocoa with ¼
teaspoon sugar and 1 tablespoon boiling water. Add ½ cup of boiling
water and boil for five minutes. A larger portion may be made at one
time, and kept on ice. Heat the milk in a double boiler and add the
hot cocoa to this. Do not let the milk boil.
_Soups and Purées._ For thin soups, take equal parts of milk and
the vegetable water from cooking potatoes, rice, spinach, carrots,
celery, corn, lima or string beans, peas. Heat in double boiler.
Purées are made by mashing and straining any of these vegetables, and
adding milk.
The most nutritious thickening is given by adding cereal gruel, or
raw egg beaten in just before serving, after removing from the stove.
Thickening of flour or cornstarch requires cooking for half an hour.
Flour in melted fat is indigestible.
_Vegetables._ Use fresh, tender vegetables. Sort carefully, removing
bruised and blemished places. Wash or scrub thoroughly through two
or three waters, using a colander. If canned, remove all immediately
from container. For children under two years, potatoes should be
baked, and other vegetables cooked thoroughly and put through a fine
sieve, removing all cellulose. For children of two and three years,
vegetables should be minced; for those four to eight years, merely
diced.
Baked potato. Remove skin from two ends to permit escape of steam
in cooking. Bake in hot oven until mealy—about forty-five minutes.
Pierce with hot fork or break open slightly to permit escape of
steam.
Boiled potatoes. Boil in skins to prevent loss of mineral nutrients.
Put into boiling water; add 1 teaspoon of salt to each pint of
water, and boil gently for half an hour. Test with a fork, and when
mellow, drain off the water, remove the cover, and let the moisture
evaporate. If very large potatoes are used, add a cup of cold water
when the outside is cooked; this prevents overcooking of outside
portion.
Other vegetables may be baked, steamed (cooked in a steamer), or
stewed. The ordinary method of cooking vegetables by boiling in a
large quantity of water removes the essential minerals and watersoaks
the vegetables.
Dried peas, beans, lentils, should be soaked overnight, salted and
boiled for fifteen minutes, then put into the casserole or fireless
cooker and cooked from six to ten hours.
Young beets, string beans, lima beans, carrots, spinach, peas,
asparagus, summer squash are best steamed until tender (from thirty
to sixty minutes). They may be stewed by putting in a covered
saucepan with just enough salted water to prevent burning, and with
the water just boiling.
Onions should be put into boiling water with 1 teaspoon salt, ¼
teaspoon soda, and a piece of charcoal to 1 quart of water. After
cooking five minutes, pour off the water and add freshly boiling,
salted water; after ten minutes drain again and put into salted
boiling
T = Tablespoon t = teaspoon c = cup
3 t = 1 T
16 T = 1 c
2 c = 1 pt.
1 t = ½ oz.
1 T = 1½ oz.
1 c = 8 oz.
16 fluid oz. = 1 pt.
16 oz. by wt. = 1 lb.
1 oz. = 28 grams (metric)
2½ lb. = 1 Kilogram (metric)
Spoonful or cupful means level. Teaspoons vary in size.
water. Boil until tender—forty-five to sixty minutes. Leave the cover
off to avoid odors. Spanish or Bermuda onions are mildest in flavor.
In serving vegetables, add a little cream for young children; omit
sauces.
=Serving.= Let the child eat outdoors whenever possible. If indoors,
have the room well ventilated and not above 68° F.
Until six years of age the child preferably should have his meals,
at least dinner and supper, at separate hours from the adults. He
will give better attention to his food, will not be tempted by adult
food, and not subjected to the table conversation which is too often
directed at him or not of interest.
A low chair and table is much to be preferred to a high chair, until
six years; then a higher chair, comfortable for the dining table,
with a foot rest, should be provided, to be cut down as the child
grows.
Serve milk at blood heat (98° F.) to children under two years of age,
and in cold weather for children to six years. Serve warm milk for
cooked cereal.
The serving plate for children under three should be kept warm during
the mealtime. Special children’s plates are now procurable that have
thermos qualities or that are kept warm by hot water.
Avoid any possibility of infection. For example: Do not return spoon
or fork to child’s food, or give to child, after you have used it
yourself, or another child has used it. Do not blow into child’s
food; use some other means of cooling.
Cereals should be fresh cooked within twelve hours for children under
two, and within twenty-four hours for older children. Baked potatoes
and eggs should be fresh cooked for each meal. Vegetables, soups, and
purées should be cooked within twenty-four hours.
Toast should be buttered when cold. If buttered hot, the fat
surrounds the starch grains and makes their digestion difficult or
impossible.
Cereal should be served without sugar or butter, which make digestion
difficult and form a rich combination that spoils the appetite for
simple, wholesome foods. Top milk may be added, and for children two
years, chopped stewed fruit.
The digestive juices in the mouth have an important part in the
digestion of starches, therefore every means should be used for the
insalivation of starchy foods. Dry buttered toast or whole wheat
cracker, for instance, eaten with cereal, necessitates longer chewing
of the cereal. The saliva is alkaline, and its action upon starches
is hindered by the presence of an acid; therefore acid fruits, such
as apple sauce, should not be taken into the mouth at the same time
as starchy foods, such as bread, crackers, or cookies. Bread and milk
are more digestible when taken together, as the milk is thus divided
into smaller curds. Milk from a glass should be slowly sipped, in
small swallows; this is a very important habit to cultivate in small
children.
The diet should be carefully selected and analyzed, carefully
prepared and daintily served with the minimum portions to meet the
child’s needs. _With these conditions_ a child should be trained to
eat what is set before him, without argument, having a second helping
of the simple foods to the limit of his caloric needs. Do not permit
a child to be finicky about his food. The tastes and food habits are
formed in early childhood.
Cultivate a taste for vegetables by giving first in vegetable broths,
and then gradually give a teaspoonful of the mashed vegetable.
If a wholesome food is refused on first offering at one meal, give
that first at a subsequent meal and withhold more desired foods until
this is taken. Keep dessert out of sight until other food is eaten.
An occasional child is not able to digest some special food, as
milk, eggs, strawberries, fish. Some children cannot digest plain
milk but can take it in foods, as in broth, junket, custard, pudding.
Common faults and tendencies in the child to be guarded against are:
Insufficient chewing
Eating too rapidly
Drinking milk rapidly instead of sipping
Dawdling over meals
Eating with fingers
Carelessness about the dropping of food on table and floor
Unwillingness to try new foods
Unwillingness to eat vegetables
Preference for sweets and starches
Overeating of bread
Common faults of adults, in the feeding of children:
Overfeeding
Irregular feeding
Allowing child to choose or refuse food and become finicky
Giving too large a portion of bread and cereal
Too much mushy food
More than one quart of milk a day
Insufficient hard foods
Coaxing child to eat when not hungry or when tired or ill
School children should always have an adequate warm breakfast, with
plenty of time to eat without hurrying, and a warm midday meal. If
the school is too far away for them to return home, some provision
should be made with the teacher, school principal, or near-by home,
for one or two warm dishes.
Children under six years should always have the mother or other
intelligent attendant with them during meals to train in careful
chewing and drinking, neatness, courtesy, conversation. With children
under four years a spirit of play may be brought into the feeding,
especially with the less desired foods; this should gradually be
dropped during the fifth year.
Utilize the opportunity for training in motor coördination and
self-reliance. Babies can be given water from a spoon at one month,
and can begin drinking from a cup at six months; thus trained, they
will never acquire the bottle habit, and they can learn to feed
themselves during the second or third year. The motor control and
self-reliance thus gained are far more important than the messing of
food during a few months. Let the children help clear their table (18
months); brush up any crumbs (2 years); bring in their own dishes
and food (3 years); wash dishes (3 years); help with the cooking (4
years).
Use enamel cups, sauce dishes, and plates until at about three years
the child can confidently handle dishes without breaking them.
The serving of food has the value of a religious ceremony and a
social banquet, as well as the satisfying of physical needs. With
intelligence and forethought it can be made of such significance, and
a means of teaching reverence, courtesy, self-control of physical
appetites, pleasant conversation.
FOOTNOTES:
[17] See Preface, page xiii.
[18] The large calorie is herein always meant.
[19] S. I. Hall: “Purin Bodies.”
[20] H. C. Sherman: “Food Products.”
[21] H. C. Sherman: “Food Products.”
[22] Grams.
[23] Adapted to age. See pages 163-5.
[24]
t = teaspoonful
T = tablespoonful
s = supplied