HEALTH NOTES.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 28 July 1927, Page 8

HEALTH NOTES.

SCHOOL CHILDREN.

LUN CHES AN D REG’BEAT 10N. (Contributed by the Department of Health.) A great deal has been said and written during the last few years about diet and knowledge as to food and feeding has been widely diffused. Still, as in most matters, attention to matter of detail which may appear-small is really of great importance. As the majority of school children, at" least of country school children, tiring their lunch to school, much may he done in connection with this meal to inculcate good habits, nutritional and other Of recent years a great advance has been made in the composition of these lunches; hunks ol cake and bread and jam sandwiches are to a great extent in the minority, and a diversified assortment of fruit, vegetable, cheese, egg, and meat sandwiches is more frequently seen. Leaflets containing information as to the composition of school lunches are published by the Health Department. and may he obtained from any head teacher on application. There is however, still too much waste of good food in the playgrounds —an evidence either of unsuitable or hastily “bolted” lunches, or, m some cases," of too great a supply, lhe preparing of lunches every morning throws a strain on many a hardworked mother, and one is not surprised that many adopt the easier plan of giving money to buy lunches. This is <i pity, ns in most onises tiio nionev goes on unsuitable food. The time spent by mother in preparing an appetising lunch will be well repaid.

SCHOOL LUNCHES. \s well as a nicely prepared lunch, rest- during eating and proper mastication are important. If quarter ol an hour or more of the midday interval were set apart for lunch and the children given to understand that that time was sacred to eating, and tor nothing else, great good would result. The tendency to. consume half the food supplv at the forenoon playtime would be checked There would also lie less waste of good food. Seated quietly the child would masticate properly and give digestion its proper chance. it, fn addition, a hot drink —particularly in the colder months —were made a routine part of the repast, the results of a happy meal would be seen m the increased vitality of the children. Though “play lunches cannot be condemned entirely, as some children start for school after either a very early or even an insufficient breakfast, and it might be a hardship to keep them hungry, yet they should tie o-enerallv discouraged, and setting apart a time strictly for lunch would automatically help towards this. To Bum up—attention to detail in the matter ot carefully preparing lunches at home, suitable in quantity and quality, setting apart a definite time for a restful lunch, and the provision of a warm drink in cold weather, are small but important matters in improving the nutrition of our rising generation and of educating it in the values ot diet, digestion, good manners, and avoidance of waste.

GARDENS. As a useful adjunct to tlie diet question, and a.s a healthy recreation, the keeping of gardens by children might be more encouraged. The nutritional value of vegetables cooked and uncooked is generally admitted, but in many country districts too little attention is paid to obtaining a constant supply of these. Iron, iodine, and other valuable nutritional assets, as well a.s vitamins, are present in vegetables Besides root eiops, such as onions, carrots, turnips, etc., maii.\ green vegetables may be grown in the winter months —spinach, silver beet, cabbage; in warmer districts lettuce, and in colder curly kail. brussels sprouts, etc. Children should be encouraged to have gardens of their own, so that with a little help and counsel from the grown-ups the family might lie kept in green vegetables all the year round. SWIMMING AND BATHING. Another healthy form of exercise is, that of swimming and bathing. During midsummer no better way of spending the hot hours of the day can be devised than by devoting them to bathing and to" learning the art of swimming- Not only are the muscles of the body exercised thereby, but the breathing apparatus is developed and the skin, with ’its myriads of flue pores and nerve endings, is purified and toned up. The salt or fresh water inadvertently taken into nose or mouth acts as a douche to the- mucous membranes of these cavities. Cases of enlarged tonsils and adenoid growths are undoubtedly benefited by the tonic effect of salt water. One lucky school known to the writer has a fine stream with bathing pool within a stone’s throw. To see the head teacher superintending the attempts of novices, and, along with an assistant, keeping a watchful eye on the scholars disporting themselves, was a lesson in what can be done to teach this useful exercise. The happy hour ended with a demonstration at request to the older pupils of restoring animation to the apparently drowned A. suitable, stream, pond, sea beach, or salt water bath within easy reach of a school affords an excellent opportunity for building up the health of the scholars.