The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1911-03-30
CHILD CULTURE
SERIES NO. I
The Child's Diet" by Nellie
F~arnsworth, Domestic Sci
ence Department, Valley
City Normal School.

City Normal School.
There are doubtless few children in
these days of plenty who are underfed,
but l am wondering how many are
properly fed. How many mothers
make the feeding of their children a
study? In how many dinner pals
would w find the right kind of food
for the school lunch? In too many
cases children are permitted to eat
whatever they choose whether it is
best for them or not.
The growing child needs good nour-
fishing food and plenty of it, but he
should not be fed on pickles, pie,
doughnuts and fried foods as steady
diet.
The child is active and his body is
growing larger each day, 80 he should
be given foods that will furnish heat
and energy to make his activities pos
sible, fortthus strength is developed;
also foods that will furnish the nj
trogenous elements necessary for the
building up of body tissue.
Many children are permitted to
spend their pennies for candy, instead
of being encouraged to save them, and
soon the candy habit has destroyed
the appetite for the regular meals, i'm
paired digestion and often ruined the
teeth. Not that the child should be
deprived of candy, for pure sugar is a
food most easily assimilated and one
that furnishes an abundant supply of
heat and energy with little effort on
the part of the body. The child should
be taught when to eat candy; never
just before meals, for it takes away
the appetite for solid food, but just
after the meal and then in moderation.
The child's diet should include plen-
ty of pure milk, eggs properly cooked,
either soft boiled or poached, white
and graham bread, fruit, vegetables,
soups, we'll cooked cereals. fish or
meat in small quantities once a day,
and simple cakes and buildings.
Many children do not carr for veg
etables yet they should be encouraged
to eat them. Vegetables supply valu-
able minerals which aid in purifying
the blood; they also furnish bulk to
the food, which causes a healthy ex-
ercise of the muscles in the digestive
organs. BY presenting a variety and
preparing each vegetable in a number
of ways, the child may be led to Guilt
vate a taste for this class of foods.
From infancy children should be
taught that older people can often eat
things which are quite unwholesome
for children; lighter desserts or fruits
may be substituted for the rich pastry
or pudding and a lesson in self con-
troll be presented.
A child who is fussy about his eat
ing meets many unpleasant situations
later in life and often places his host
ess in an awkward position, because
he has not cultivated a liking for good
wholesome foods in general.
Children should be trained to eat
slowly and m%asticate their food thor
oughly. This nscessitates %cultivating
the habit of being prompt in rising in
the morning, so the breakfast need not
be hurried. Many a mother thinks
she is doing q kindness to her child
to let him sleep in the morning. She
does not realize what a bad habit she
Is helping him to form, one that will
prove a hindrance all through life.
If the child goes to bed at the proper
time he will get the required amount
Of sleep and can rise promptly without
the slightest harm.
1t is often deemed necessary for the
child to eat more often than the adult,
J in fact it is a far better plan than to
have him overeat at any one meal.
The child's stomach cannot assimilate
as large a quantity of food at a time
as that of the grown person. Lunches
between meals should be regular and
carefully planned. Highly seasoned
foods should be avoided, but simple,
!, nourishing foods such as bread and
butter, milk, fruit or a sandwich, may
be given.
, The greater number Of children's
. diseases arise from improper diet and
yet: mothers continue to permit their
children to eat abundantly OF highly
seasoned and unwholssome foods
which create unnatural appetites, i'm
pair digestion and lay the foundation
for oil manner of future troubles
t Tea and coffee have no place in thu
diet Of the child. They are stimulant:
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