Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1902-05-15
FEED BABY SLOWLY.
ONE or THE MOST IMPORTANT FAC
TORS IN CHILD REARING.

| ONE or THE MOST IMPORTANT FAC
TORS IN CHILD REARING.
| Reasons why Food Should Not BE
| TumbIed Rapidly Into the Little
4 stomach-Advice which Applies to
Grown Folks as Well an Babes.
| In the proper bringing up Of child
| there 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 Flat 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
| manger knows enough, when neces-
sary, to put stone in the Inanger,
scattering the oats around ii, so that
the horse may be compelled to eat
| slowly. II the horses inclination is
| to gulp down water too fast, the care
full man will put big sponge In the
water, compelling slow drinking.
A chiId's appetite, when he Is al
lowed to eat rapidly, is always in ex-
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 flesh,
new muscles, new bone and 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 filed; it is
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 alb
sorbed as much food as it really needs
million foolish parents urge their
children to eat a great deal and always
let them eat as much as they want to.
Yet all Of these know that famished
man taken of a wreck will eat himself
to death IL allowed to do SO. The very
hungry child goes to the same excess.
only In lesser degree. The great |
safeguard against that excess in eat.
iag. which kills 90 per cent of men be
fore their time and which accounts for |
30 per cent Of children's diseases. is |
slow eating.
Nearly all children eat too rapidly. |
They do so by nature. Slow eating is |
a 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 time. Before 1t has time to half
chew or even gulp down the first tea
spoonful OF food another is held to its |
lips. OF course 1t swallows what 1t |
has in It's mouth and seizes upon the |
next mouthful. The habit thus incul-
Gated by foolish adults often ruins the |
child permanently.
-Four factors count In the healthy AZ
simllation Of food, factors which par
ents and nurses should remember. AS |
suming the food to be properly prepar-
cd, thoroughly cooked and wisely &C.
lected, there comes, first, the work OF |
the teeth, which prepare the food for
easy digestion; second, the action of
the saliva, with which the food must |
be thoroughly mixed In order to mini |
mize the necessary work Of the gastric |,
Juices In the stomach; third. the work |
of the stomach itself; fourth, and most
important, a proper supply OF blood
and Of heat.
Force your child to chew slowly and
thoroughly every mouthful. IL moth
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 |
him. Don't allow your child to gulp |
down water or any other liquid with
his solid food. IL you allow him to
drink while he eats. the salIvary
glands will not net. They will not |
need to act, for he will be able to swal |
low his food easily when 1t is made |
moist by water.
You can't do anything to help along |
the unconscious process which goes |
on In the stomach, but you can do ey-
erything to help that process by at |
tending to the fourth necessity. which |
blood In the stomach Allow no child |
after eating to take violent exercise, |
to study or even to read an exciting |
book. The brain has first call upon |
the service Of the heart. and as soon |
as the brain is excited the blood leaves /
the stomach and goes to the head. The
muscles also when too violently ex- |
ertcd draw the blood away from the |
stomach.
1t is absolutely impossible for child
or grown person to digest properly |
or to get strength and vitality from
what he eats unless for ut least half
hour after eating the stomach be al
lowed to monopolize the blood supply.
Children should be kept quiet In
some way, especially very young chill
dren, after they have eaten. In the
case Of very young babies nature at
tends 10 this mercifully by making
them go to sleep as soon as they have
absorbed their milk. Older children
ought not to go to sleep directly after
eating for physiological reasons which
may be explained at some other time;
but they ought to be quiet and calm.
Tens OF thousands OF children In homes
where this newspaper is read are ruin
ed In health by studying right after
meals. The public school system
which gives children too short rest
ing period In the middle OF the day Is
responsible partly for this, and the
LAt no M .tsxt, MI 1
sible.
Every word that is said here applies
to grownup people. Of whom not one
in hundred has ever been taught 70
apply to himself such common sense
care as is bestowed on a second class
horse. New York journal.
The Willing Worker.