OUR BABIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14684, 18 November 1909, Page 3

OUR BABIES.

3l HIGEIA.

Published under the auspices o£ the Society for tho Promotion of (lis Health of Women ancl Children,

MASTICATION (Continued.)

MEAN'S OF ENSURING.EFFICIENT HASTICATIO.V,

(By Dr Harry Campbell.) In order to secure tho full advantages accruing from the use of the jaws and their appendages, it is above all necessary for them to be adequately exercised (luring Uie period of development. If this is done the masticatory instinct will establish itelf as a permanent force, so that tho individual ivill tond for the rest of his life to subject even soft foods to thorough mastication. Tho tongue, tho lips, and the jaws of the lwwly-born child find their natural exercise at the mother's breast, ami we should therefore do our utmost to get_ the mother to suckle her child. If, unhappily, wc tail in this, we must see that the teat of the feeding-bottle is so constructed as to compel the child to earn his meal by, at any rate, some exercise. Directly the disposition to bite hard things is manifested, tho instinct, for instinct it is, should be gratified. The instinct becomes more and more pronounced as the time for the eruption of the teeth approaches. It is now move than ever necessary to provide the child with hard substances on which to exercise his jaws anil gu..is. A great deal of the trouble of teething is duo to the disregard, or tho ignorance, of this fart. What, then, are \ve to employ for tho purpose? Though ivory, coral, and tho like hard, 6mooth substances may be useful in thoir way, it is far better to givo iho child something which is not only hard, but also nutritious and pleasant to tho taste—something which will at ono and the same timo exercise tho chewing apparatus, excito tho taste organs, and provide a certain amouijt of nutriment. To this end we may, as the teething time approaches, give a chop or a chicken bono from which practically all tho meat has been removed, and we nmy inoi'easo its attractiveness by powdering tho bono tyith white sugar or salt. From such bones a email amount of nutriment can be extracted, and this of a kind most acceptablo to the infant stomach, for we inu3t not forget that tho young human being is essentially carnivorous. Chicken and chop bones, yielding as they do to tho pressure of tho gums, are, moreover, just of the right consistence for tho purpose in view. By thus providing tho masticatory apparatus with suitable cxerciso we shall do much to facilitate the eruption of the teeth and tho growth of the jaws and t-hoir appendages (including the salivary glands), and so to prepare the mouth for the reception of vegetable food. This should, of course, not be given until the teeth appear, and it should be noted that the order in which these make their appearance gives some indication as to the time to administer vegetable food to the child;

The lower incisors are first erupted (seventh to eighth month); then follow the upper incleors (seventh to tenth month). These teeth enable (he child to'BITE, but not, bo it observed, to masticate, for which function tho molars are neccssary. Now, the first molars do not with us appear until Iho twelfth to tho fourteenth month, and it seems certain therefore that our primitive ancestors, unless they cut thoir molars earlier, could not have obtained starch in any (iiumtity until tlioy had rcachcO this aije. These consideration'? suggest the desirability of not giving more than the smallest quantity of starch before tho twelfth month.

Before the twelfth month we should bo careful lo give tho ehikl its limited supply of starch in a form compelling vigorous If given, as is the custom, in the liquid or pappy form, it will' pass down as crude starch into the stomach, and will bo likely to cause indigestion; but if we select a form which obliges the child to chow properly, not only will tho jaws, teeth,' and the gums obtain the e.vcrci;c for which they wave, nml without which they cannot properly develop, but inuc-h of the starch will be converted in the mouth into maltose. Nothing can bo niiiro _ foolish t!nn to upset the child's digestive syst?ni by deluging it with liquid (itareh, and then seek to make it well by ordering it (ns is so frequently done) malt extract—tho very substance—i.e., maltos— which tho child can, and outfit 10, lutuut-' within tho laboratory of his mouth. There is only cno wav to dev:-!r.!, tlw masticatory instinct in a child, ami that "is ta givj him food which oblige.? him to masticate. It is meio watte of words to tell him to chew his food properly; and to blnmo him for gciibliug it is as' unjust us it is foolish. Thn blame, if any tiiero be. ultuches not to the child, but to those who " are responsible for lii.s irrational dietary. .".II (hat, is needful is to qiv.j Hie child from an early. peric<l focdi which compsl mastication. ' Many people arc under the mistaken imprrssion that if the young child is given solid food lie will i;o likely t/j .choke: but of this there is no dailjer if lie is !,'iven hard thingri from the beginning. It is only when, by ,iapfcediii"', his normal masticatory instinct has been kept in, abeyance, and (113 habit of bolting the food has b?en acquired, that ■'tny danger is to be apprehended 'on this score. Kven then it is but remote, and eau be readily overcome by judicious handling

Starch, then, should be given to the child in a solid and somewhat tough form, such as bread-crust. Loaves should be shaped en ,ik to give a maximum of crust, and should be baked hard. A well-baked crust, cut. in a. .suitable form, aud spread with butter, bacon-fat, or dripping, constitutes a very acceptable and wholesome morsel.

(Memo.—Bread dried by standing on edge ill an oven with the door ajar, and then lightly toasted, gives a fair amount cf muscular exerei«c, and its dryness ensures Mifalivation. Plain oateake made without iat needs very through mastioHiou. The c ame applies to hard, plain ship's biscuit, but this is not easily procurable nowndays. Further, biscuits nrc somewhat objectionable, because t.hcy form a soft gummy paste, which tends to lodge about tho teeth, and may lead to caries.)

When by such menn6 ,t« these the child's instinct to masticate has had proper opportunity to develop, wo may allow a certain ajneunt of soft starchy fcod, such as povl'idge, bailed potatoes, milk pudding, and tho life;; and these lie will now Im likely to fubjcct to something like adequate mastication, which will tend to mitigate the evils associated with such food. When a child has learned to masticate thoroughly ho con be given nuts. Though animal food does not need prolonged mastication, it is, when cooked, all the better for a certain amount of it, owing to the coagulation of tlio protcids; and in order to ensure tho efficient mastication of meat, fish, and poultry by children, Dr Sim Wallaoe recommends that these foods should be given in largs pieces, cut thin. "Flat pieces, about ono inch square, generally necessitate a certain amount of mastication. It k difficult to swallow largo flat pieecs of meat without mastioation, but when finely minced little or no mastication is called forth." The younger tho child the more underdone should the meat be.