South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-01-19
Children Do Need
Lunche, at School
SaysDr. Hutchinson
BY Woods Hutchinson. \. VI. VI. ID.
The Worlds Foremost Writer on
Medical Subjects.

" u ~ = VI EAAAOSA W lAEl OlA
Medical Subjects.
One particularly interesting phase
Of the feed early and often" pro-
gram, the school lunch, is Just now
reaching its highest annual impor-
lance in the hunger time" as the
Indians called winter
One of the first things discov-
cred when we began seriously TO
study the health of the school chill
dren was that many Of them came
TO school very poorly fed. This was
at first blush set down TO simple
poverty on the part of parents. but
closer study revealed the more en-
couraging finding that the pitiful
percentage due TO this was really
comparatively small and the major
ity of il to the fact that a great
many children didn't eat half
enough breakfast before they came
to school. This was rather surpris-
ing in view Of the popular belief
that most children are simply walk
ing appeutes.
But the fact has been proved
overwhelmingly. nevertheless. that
even from the best and most pros
porous OF homes children will come
rushing to school with an absurdly
insufficient amount Of fOod-fuel in
their little interiors
A part of this is due TO the last
minute" rush. sleeping as late as
possible and then just making one
swoop through the dining room on
he
Of IL TO sheer nervousness and fear
of being tardy or anxiety and un-
easiness over imperfectly prepared
lessons And altogether il was per-
fectly surprising when the commit
tee looked into the matter and con-
suited large numbers of mothers
how high a per cent Of school chill
dren had little or no appetite for
breakfast and had simply 10 be
forced to eat anything.
Lacked Fresh Air.
This seemed so unnatural that it
excited our curiosity and the matter
was studied further. with the inter-
esting discovery that a very consid-
cradle shore of this poor appetite
for breakfast in children was due
10 their sleeping in rooms which
were hot or stuffy or not sufficiently
ventilated.
Combined also with too late hours
the night before or with insufficient
exercise in the open air during the
day preceding, 50 that the open bed
room window was again found 10 be
Of great Importance in building up
no hna1fI, of -.
Which furnishes an interesting il
lustration of how a movement un-
dertaken for the purpose of helping
the less fortunate 10 or 1 , per cent
of our school children not only
helped these but greatly benefited
the other So per cent as well.
This also simplifes the problem
greatly as most of the EARLIER OPP
position TO il had been }ased upon
a very proper and justifia BILE fear of
either hurting the feelings or
wOunding the pride of the poorer
children, who needed to be fed. OF,
save the mark, pauperizing" them
or weakening parental responsible
ity. or from an occasional old
crouch OF a heavy tax-dOdger, who
had no children OF his own in school
class legislation"
Proof of Experiments.
SO that the problem simply re-
I solves itself into one of ways and
means children come TO school
I hungry-how do we feed them? To
/ be perfectly sure that we were on
the right track. a little experiment
was tried i'm a dozen different
/ schools. Thoughtful and observant
/ teachers had long noticed a marked
falling off in attention and power
/ of concentration, TO say nothing of
order" at about 10 or 1880 in the
morning, which was not always re
/ lieved by a morning recess.
To see how much of this was due
TO empty stomachs the class was di-
vided In two as nearly equally and
! evenly as possible and one-half Civ
I en- a nice hot lunch at 1880 and the
Fother left unfed. The difference in
/ execution" in the remaining hour
OF school was something astonish-
/ ing and so marked as TO oe abso-
lutely unmistakable. Besides, it
/ worked just the same. the other
/ way on" when the other half OF
the class was fed and the first nalf
unfed