The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-11-22

be organized in each schooI b,if5
ing, so that every underweigbt
overweight child can be ed1cs..5
as to the Importance Of nor.
growth. 'A'.
The classes in this city. viii.
are similar to those in other citi.-
are held once a week in scbo1.
time. Where only a few ~.
classes can be held, a numhe, !.
pupils are weighed and measrr.i
and the extreme cases are sqIarts-
for the training Each OF ire
children is examined physician
preferably in the presence Of ma.
ents. Physical defects are NOT
Diseased tonsils, decaying teeth !,
adenoids may be a main rcasos
why the child does not gain A.
cannot hope to gain normally Wiz
any defect which draws on ~
strength, the child and his 'parsnt.
are urged to cooperate in hayips
defects removed.
An attempt is also made In s,s
out how the child lives at boms
and to get him to change any habit,
that obviously keep him from Yrov
ing. One child told of readibs
stories regularly in bed until sftss
midnight. Another drank two runs
of coffee with each meal. A rir,
belonged to half a dozen clnbs
each requiring hard work outsids
OF school hours for drives and sales
And a boy ate too little because h.
had heard it said that be woul8
probably grow up to be fat like hi
father.
Value of Rest.
With such hindranCes removed
the pupil is in better condition IA
begin training for health. One i'm
portant rule for the underyeigbi
child in health training is an hour
of rest day, preferably at two dit.
ferent times and before meals il
possible. Food is digested mucR
better if it is eaten when the par-
son is not fatigued. An hour Of
rest is one of the few general rules
which are urged upon all students
in the malnutrition classes. Where
possible a place at school is pro-
vided so that these children can
rest at certain times of the day.
The undernourished child is also
encouraged to eat more frequently
and not heavily at any one time. A
light lunch in the middle Of the
morning and Of the afternoon is 4
weight builder. Some schools sup
ply this in the form of bread and
milk, cocoa, or soup.
At the weekly class meeting
each child has before him his chart
the details of his case and
his gains or losses in weight. II
possible, his mother is there, seated
back of him. The old fahioned ar
of having the pupil
making most progress at the head
Of the class and the rest graded
down to the foot is found useful
here. No mother likes to sit back
of her child at the foot of the class
When she learns that he is there
because he eats too fast, or did not
follow his instructions for the past
week. she develops something OF
the competitive spirit that most Of
the children have.
Some mothers who prided them
selves on serving substantial meals
have been shocked to find that ne
glect of some important kind OF
food, such as fruit or green Yege-
tables, was partly responsible for q
child's slow growth.
When a pupil in the nutrition
class becomes normal in weight for
MS height and age, he is graduate
with a certificate. Twenty weeks
IS the usual length Of a course
After FIVE months of close attention
10 food, sleep and exercise, few
health graduates drop back aud
lave 10 enter a class again.