The Washington herald., 1915-07-30

At no time Is the young mother more
| anxious than when she has weaned he!
| baby and has to select the proper food
| for him. She has been told SO much OF
| the dangers Of improper feeding. has
heard of the great mortality among IN
fants from improper food. that she Is
obsessed with terror from the very be-
| ginning. and the slightest evidence of an
upset stomach fills her with the gloom
| lest apprehensions She is sure the baby
is going to die if it shows the least sign
| of sickness.
For the comfort OF these uneasy moth
ers Will say that If you VIII follow your
own common sense in feeding your child
you need not fear any bad results OF
course thee are cases of malnutrition,
but as rule indigestion comes from CIV
ing a child either too rich food or toe
much of II. A few articles of diet well
cooked ard gwen in moderate quantity.
will serve to keep your baby in good
health and yourself from agon!es Of use
less fear.
In the first place. the young child has
absolute need of mineral or ash TO sup
ply the nutriment needed by the bones
and teeth in this period OF almost mir
aculous development [ have told you
in a previous talk OF the mother who
into the yard to eat the dirt when they
were teethinS. The physician whom she
consulted told her. you will remember.
that it was because they Were not get
ting the food nature craved for them
That must De your first lookout after you
have weaned the baby. The mothers
milk supplies all the elements the child
needs for growth and development. and
SO when YOU begin to feed him other
things you must make a study of your
subject and learn Just what articles he
requires.
The proteids. as they are called, the
BODYBUILDING materials. are found in
milk and eggs and so his diet must in
Clude these. Of course. But be careful
about the milk, especially at first. Tn
diluted cows milk is often Indigestible.
because 1t is TOO rich. There are several
excellent books by experienced doctors
which will instruct you in this matter.
But it is the child of two or three years
whose diet is often least understood and
who therefore gets the wrong start in
life.
Don't think that because your child
has cut its teeth and is growing into
big boy or girl that you can give it just
anything it wants TO eat. The diet should
still be simple and restricted to two or
at most three articles at one time.
Here are the things you may give with
impunity-milk eggs, baked pear. baked
apple sweet potatoes. Irish potatoes,
cereal Gf thoroughly cooked, cream
soups thome madeD, such as cream of
celery rice. tomato or potato: the pulp
of a few thoroughly cooked vegetables.
peas. asparagus. squash or corn. Orange
juice and prUne pulp are invalua BILE in a
small childs dietary. they aid peris-
talsis or bowel movement, and thus keep
the system cleanSed. Another article
have found valuable is the banana-notI
raw. heaven forfend-but ripe and baked
to a pulp. 1t is nourishing and easily di-
Sested, and deserves TO become a more
popular article OF food than it has here
tofore been.
first requisite, of course Establish GER
tain hours for the child's meals and then
adhere to them with the greatest rigid
ity. Allow nothng-no social engage
ment. no club. no pleasure to interfere
with or postpone your childs breakfast
or dinner. Guage the quantity by what
you observe of his needs some children
require a slightly greater quantity of
food than others. Do not feed him too
often or too much.
Give him some sweets, but not candy:
he will often crave a sweet, showing a
natural need, but in that case give him
the natural sugars rather than the arti-
fetal and often highly colored candies
while he is young. The craving forJ
sweets may be satisfied to good effect
by little honey. BIZ the pulp of prunes
or other sweet fruit.
Desserts should be of the simplest, too |
Rich cakes should be avoided. but sponge