St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1881-12-02
flor the BnnsehnH.
Should Children Eat Between
Meals

There comes a time in the household
when the head thereof must decide the
mOmentOus question as to whether the
children shall be allowed to eat be-
tween meals or not. The question can
be decided no matter how persistent
child may be, this can be settled, not
simply be laid on the table. A woman
who has even very superficial knOwl-
edge of the working of the stomach can
explain it to her child in such a way
that it will make a strong impression
upon his mind. To represent to an
imaginative child that the stomach is
like a man who when you have eaten
your breakfast goes to work upon that
with all his might, and who does not
rest till he has ground the food up, and
given the good part to the blood, so
feeding each portion of the body, not
forgetting the fingers and toes even,
and who rejects all the bad, keep
ing you from sickness and pain, will
awaken intense interest in the child's
mind and he a great aid to obedience.
Put it before him, and ask him if it is
not unkind and even cruel to give out
another task before the first is finished
and little time for rest been given.
1t will help you greatly in enforcing ii
upon his mind that he must not eat at
irregular intervals. A child's digestive
organs may be weak he may need to
eat more frequently than a grown per
son, but it should invariably be at some
stated time. When an early breakfast
has been eaten and children have a
long walk to school, they may be al
lowed to have a simple lunch to eat al
the recess which usually occurs long
enough before the dinner to give time
for digestion. A piece of bread and
butter and an apple, or Il little basket
of berries, OF one or two figs and some
fresh crisp crackers make a wholesome
lunch. 1t will be eaten with great rel
ish if the children do not know just
what is in the little basket and hidden
by the neat napkin, and they will open
it with a feeling of pleased wonder as
to what mamma has given them to-day
While calling on lady once, her little
daughter of eight or nine years old, an
extremely unhealthy looking child,
with the dull eyes and muddy com
plexiOn that tell so plainly of indiges-
ton, came into the room and whisper
ed to her mother that she was hungry.
&c right to the cake jar, love, and help
yourself" AS she turned away, and
while still within hearing, her mother
said, "She is such delicate child-is
never well, in fact-that | can refuse
her nothing" l thOught-perhaps in
humanly-that it is pity such child
should live to become burden to her
self and to those around her. or to per
petuate the false ideas, or the entire
lack of ideas, or the entire lack of ideas,
exhibited in her training. This is the
subject upon which feel strongly, for
| have the best interests of childhood
at heart, and the amount of ignorance
displayed by those who have the charge
of children is something which par
takes of the nature of crime-for it is
inexcusable. 1t is terrible to think
that woman who knows no more of
the human body than she does of the
composition of the sun, has it in heI
power to ruin the digestive organs of a
whole family of children IN. Y.
Evening Post.