The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1902-04-22
FEED BABY SLOWLY.
ONE OF rHE MOST IMPORTANT FAC
TORS IN CHILD REARING.
Reasons why Food should Not ne
TumbSrd Rapidly Into the Little
stomnch-AdVIcc which Applies 20
Grown Folks ~ Wen a. Babes.

' -
1here is nothing absolutely more i'm.
portant than this one thing to teach
it TO eat slowly.
Every groom knows and observes the
rule In the care OF horse that rapid
eating Is fatal TO digestion. There are
all sorts Of patent managers to prevent
the horse swallowing his oats too
quickly. The man who has no patent
mangcr knows enough. when neces-
sary. to put stone in the manger.
scattering the oats around It. so that
the horse may be compelled TO eat
slowly. II the horses inclination is
to sulp down water too fast. the care
ful man will put a big sponge in the
water. compelling slow drinking.
A child's appetite. when he IL al
lowed to eat rapidly. is always in cx-
cess of his actual needs unless the
child is In bad health. The reason for
this is extremely simple. The child
Graves food because his body requires
to manufacture new tissue. He is
growing. and he must not only replace
the used up tissues that his daily life
destroys. but he must make new desh.
new muscles new bone aud new blood
every day, adding weight and size.
The sensation Of hunger is not the
craving OF an empty stomach, satisfied
as soon as the stomach is filled IL is a
craving that is felt by the nerves all
over the body. This craving cannot
possibly be satisfied until the stomach
has begun the work of transforming
\ the food into blood flesh. muscles, etc;
consequently the sensation which we
call hunger persists long after the
child or grown person has rapidly abb
sorbed as much food as II really needs.
A million foolish parents urge their
children to eat great decl and always
let them eat as much as they want TO.
Yet all OF these know that a famished
man taken of wreck will eat himself
to death IL allowed to do so. The very
hungry child goes to the same excess.
only in a lesser degree. The great
safeguard against that excess in eat
ing. which kills 30 per cent of men be-
fore their time and which accounts for
90 per cent of children's diseases. is
slow eating.
Nearly all children eat too rapidly.
They do so by nature. Slow eating is
, matter of education But too often
the mother or the nurse teaches the
child the habit of eating fast. When
the baby is little, il is fed one spoonful
! at a time. Before IT has time to half
chew or even gulp down the first tea
spoonful of food another is held to its
, lips OF course it swallows what it
has in its mouth and seizes upon the
next mouthful. The habit thus ircul-
, Gated by foolish adults often ruins the
, child permanently.
, Four factors count In the healthy as.
| similation of food, factors which par.
: ents and nurses should remember. As
; suming the food to be properly prepar-
I ed thoroughly cooked and wisely Sc
. lected. there comes, first. the work OF
= the teeth. which prepare the food for
5 easy digestion; second. the action of
Q the saliva. with which the food must
. be thoroughly mixed in order to mini
5 mlze the necessary work of the gastric
juices in the stomach; third, the work
e Of tine stomach itself; fourth, and most
5 important. proper supply of blood
; and of heat.
= Force your child to chew slowly and
Y thoroughly every mouthful. II moth
a ing else will do. compel him at fire.
: quent intervals to lay down his knife
: and fork that the Importance Of pro
{ longed chewing may be impressed upon
n him. Don't allow your child to gulp
n down water or any other liquid with
u ! nlInxts hin, %
drink while he eats. the salivary
8 glands will not act. They will not
d need TO act. for he will be able to swal'
= low his food easily when II is made
r moist by water.
r You can't do anything to help along
= the unconscious process which goes
e on In the stomach, but you can do ev-
: erything TO help that process by at.
( tending TO the fourth necessity. which
{ demands blood and the heat OF the
I blood In the stomach. Allow no child
s after eating to take violent exercise,
= to study or even to read an exciting
l. book The brain has first call upon
: the service OF the heart, and as soon
J. as the brain Is excited the blood leaves
the stomach and goes 10 tue head. The
muscles also when too violently ex.
erted draw the blood away from the
: stomach.
: II is absolutely impossible for a child
4 or a grown person TO digest properly
4 or to get strength and vitality from
b what he eats unless for at least a half
' hour after eating the stomach be al
T. lowed 20 monopolize the blood supply.
70 Children should be kept quiet in
= some way, especially very young chill
1 dren, after they have eaten. In the
. case OF very young babies nature at
{ tends TO this mercifuly by making
5 them 20 10 sleep as soou as they have
+ absorbed their milk Older children
! ought not 10 20 TO sleep directly after
2 eating for physiological reasons which
l may be explained at some other time;