CHILDREN'S LUNCHES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22084, 13 April 1935, Page 17

CHILDREN'S LUNCHES

Sir, —I notice in your issue of April 4, a strange attitude taken by Mr. T. IT. Wells, chairman of the Auckland Education Board and Dr. McGill of the School Medical Board, over schoolchildren's lunches. I should like to refer to some of the instructions and pamphlets issued to schools. In the "Syllabus of Instruction" issued by the Education Department I find:— "School lunches should be organised and eaten under supervision, the opportunity thus afforded being utilized to impart information as to the requirements of a satisfactory lunch. In J. Renfrew White's "The Growing Body" the official text book. I find in the ideal diets for school children: "No eating, except of fruit, between meals," and "Allow no soft white bread, scone, biscuits, sweet or iced cakes." In pamphlets issued by the Health Department regarding school lunches, I find: "Wheatmeal bread is preferable to white, being more nutritious and less liable to cause dental decay." These are just a few examples, but they serve to show that a teacher doing his duty must apply his health talks practically. I also understand that if wholemeal bread is not up to the standard required by the Health Department, the baker can be prosecuted Country Teacher.