Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-04-07
MISS HELEN s. YERkES
On Nutrition for School Children

TNHE value of milk as a leading article Of
L diet, especially for children, has had
abundant proof in the experience Of the
Walton School, according to Miss Helen s.
Yerkes, principal Of that institution.
at has been amply proved" said Miss
Yerkes, that the bread, meat and potato
diet which is one of the staples of the Amer
lean dietary system does not constitute an
ideal meal. This matter, as we'll as that OF
the right kind of food for children. has been
worked out on a laboratory basis at johns
Hopkins and other institutions, where
classes of fifty or more have been care.
diets noted. 1t is not guesswork, but facts
and has led to Il very comprehensive knowl.
edge of what foods child needs.
Poverty Not the Chief Cause
Like every large city. there is n great
deal of under -nourishment in Philadelphia
among the children. There is not much In
the neighborhood of our school, because the
homes from which our children come to us
are Of the better kind financially. But In
most instances the chief cause of under
nourshment is not poverty. 1t comes IN an
immense number Of cases from eating too
hastily, especially at breakfast time.
This undue haste in eating. as though
the time spent at the table were to be
grudged Onstead Of being regarded as most
important, as 1t should be, because 1t Is
then and there that the foundations OF health
are laid), together with the fact that In
many families the children are permitted to
choose what they will eat instead OF being
given the food which they require. are the
main reasons for under -nourishment.
Another very important element in this
question is the habit which many children
have and of which their parents seem to he
unable or unwilling to break them, of eating
between meals. This is INDUCED in to
very large extent, and the result is that
when the proper time for meals comes the
children have no appetite. and a loss in the
right kind of food is the consequence.
Breakfast a Contested Point
breakfast is a contested point in many
families, In most Of them the mother sup
plies the right kind OF food and cooks 1t
nroperly, but the children have acquired the
habit of not eating breakfast, and If they
come to the table ut all it Is not with the
right kind Of appetite.
"With many girls of adolescent and pre-
adolescent age the habit of not eating Is
pose, and it should be corrected by the par
ents.
Nutrition Home Topic
"Nutrition is. after all, really a home
tonic. We do what we can in the school to
inculcate the right principles, put the actual
practice must be carried on in the homes
il the results are to be OF the best. The
cooking course of the seventh and eighth
grade girls, which is taught to every girl of
those grades in Philadelphia, Is very valu-
able because it is based upon the truth
about diet.
Two of the greatest things in the curric-
ulum of the public schools, in that they
teach things which every child must know
to be healthful and do his or her best in
life. are the courses in hygiene and in cook
ing. The first teaches the physical needs of
the body and how these needs can best be
supplied, and the second gives full knowl-
edge to girls of the seventh and eighth
grades as to how to prepare a balanced food
program.
The Walton Milk Habit
In the Walton School we have shown
| the value Of the use Of the simplest food of
| all-milk. We began this n year ago, after
| the Easter vacation, and each child receives
half pint Of milk day at the morning
recess. NThey pay four cents for each half
| pint, and every child can have as many half
| pints as desired.
| "Fully One-third of the school takes tho
milk every morning, and the good results nr
! it are apparent In several ways. We use II
| as a preventive rather than ns a cure and
| it has practically superseded the old basket
| lunch In our school. Among the good ro.
suits are that there is now no running ARR
| candy, licorice and other sweets OF nm.
'dsslrablss character when the. system needs