FEEDING, SECOND YEAR

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 70

FEEDING, SECOND YEAR

(Continued.)

Last week attention was drawn to the barm done by thoughtlessly "giving the baby what's going." The following remarks by a prominent professor of children's diseases in an American university are worth quoting : — ♦'During the second year of life as much care is required as during the first. The fear of the second summer would largely be overcome if the- child were not allowed to eat food unsuited to its digestion. Most of. the illnesses and many of the deaths throughout childhood are traceable to improper diet." The following lists sum up what actual practical experience, extending over a. wide range of oases in various parts of the world, has shown to give the best results. The information is based on conclusions arrived at by the leading authorities in America »md the Old World, adapted to the available food* and prevailing conditions of Hew Zealand-. TWELVE TO FIFTEEN MONTHS. Fibst Meal (§ to 7 a.m.). Give, on waking Boz to lOoz (a breakfast Cupful) of prepared milk, composed at first of one part of new milk to two parts of Humanised Milk No. 2; and teter of equal parts of each. From a pint end a-half to a quart of thie mixture may be made up every day to last the 24 hours, and should 1)6 heated to 155deg Fahr., then cooled TOpidly and kept cool. Note that it is preferable' to give 2o* of gruel (described later) with, this meal, end to correspondingly reduce the milk, but this is sometimes regarded as inconvenient in summer, because exposed gruel does not keep -well in warm weather, and the mother prefers to make after breakfast what she needs for the day. However, gruel , will keep quite safely through a summer's night if the remainder of what hae been mode in the morning is brought to the boil in the evening, then covered, cooled rapidly in water, -and kept in a cool safe as directed for milk. Recipes for preparing various gruels are given below. Those made from barley are the most readily digested, and are therefore to be preferred where there is a distinct tendency to digestive disturbancee. On the other hand, oat gruels are rather more nutritious, and are preferable where there is any tendency to constipation. A little dry rusk or etale bread may be allowed with this meal, as soon as the baby has learned to nibble and chew. Seoonb Mbal (10 to 11 a.m.). Prepared milk, 7oz to 8oz; barley or oat ffeHy gruel, 2oz. Thtbd Meal (1.30 to 2.30 p.m.}. Four to six ounces of broth (made from chicken, mutton,' or beef), «kimmed of fat ; and 4oz or soz of the mixed prepared milk, ■with or without gruel. As development advances the baby should be encouraged to lake a dry rusk, crisp toast, or stale bread in gradually-increasing quantity. A beginning in this direction can ueually be effected soon after a year old » reached, Jxut occasionally no progress in eating dry eoHds can be mode until the baby has reached two years, or even older. Much depends on careful teaching, and it is a matter of great importance to train a baby to masticate properly and eat slowly as soon as possible in the .eoond year. The advantages of chewing some more or lees dry food are twofold— viz. : (1) The salivary glands are stimulated to grow and secrete actively. (2) Normal formation, growth, and development of teeth, jaws, and the muscles concerned in mastication are promoted. Foubth Meal (5 to 6 p.m.). Same a3 second meal. Fifth Meal (9 to 10 p.m.). Same as second meal. One or two tableapoonful3 of strained fresh orange juice should be given an hour before the second meal. This promotes nutrition, and tends to regulate the bowels. It should be omitted if at any time there is a tendency to undue looseness. Professor Holt puts the question, "Cannot most children take plain milk before they are 15 months old?" and he gives bis opinion as follows: "Many a.n, but many cannot, or" at least t" c y do much better when the milk is modified." In the writer's opinion, it is often wiser to continue the use of some Humanised Milk No. 2 up to 18 months. To sum up, "the full average feeding requirement for the period of life between ft year and 15 months will be: Humanised Milk No. 2 1 pint. New milk 1 pint. Jelly gruel £ pint. Give half a pint (about a. breakfast cupful) of this mixture for che first, second, fourth, and fifth meals, and about a quarter of a pint at the third meal. The mother need not worry if the baby manages to take in the 24 hours only a pint and a-half of milk instead of the full allowance of a quart given above. Many babiee thrive on even less than a pint and it-half, and it must be remembered that the tendency of mothers i« to overfeed. So long as the baby is growing well, so long as it is increasing in weight about half a pound a month at fhis time, there need be no Bxiety. Oatmeal jelly should be regarded as the fundamental standard gruel for ordinary babiee, but in all cases variety is beneficial, and on two or three days during the week it would be well to make the gruel with barley meal or wheat moal. The midday meal lends itself specially well to the introduction of the variations previously described. Orange juice or baked apple should be given, before the second meal unless there is some special reason to the contrary. No Schaps Between Meals. .X the baby is thirsty between meals it ban be given a drink of plain boiled water. On no account allow it to have food of any bind, whether fluid or solid, between meals, and specially forbid the giving of cake, %iscuite or of any sort of sweets. Profossor Rolch, of Harvard, Bays: "The infant ihould never be given cake or candy even te taste."

f RECIPES FOR GRUEL, ETC. Whatever kind of meal is used (oatmeal, baTleymeal, wheatmeal), it is best oooked in a double or jacketed boiler, on the prini ciple of a common gluepot. To Make a Pint of Gbxjel. Remove the inner pot, and into it pour a pint of boiling water, adding a pinch of salt. Stir in two level table6poonfuls of oatmeal, barleymea.l, ot wheatmeal. Bring to the boil. Meantime the outer pot should iiave been filled a third full of boiling water and kept near the boil. Now lower the inner pot into the outer, and J keep the water in the jacket at the boil for half an hour, adding boiling water if needed to compensate for what boils away. Make up what evaporates from the inner pot with boiling water, so that when finished there may be about a pint of ' gruel. Strain while hot through boiled white muslin into a perfectly clean jug. Cover, cool rapidly in water, and keep in a cool «safe. The gruel should set to a thick jelly on cooling. Robinson's patent barley may be used instead of the above, but presents no special advantage over any good ordinary meal. Arrowroot or cornflour gruels may also be used, but are Jess complete foods, and the above three afford ample variety. A considerable saving of trouble is effected if the total quantity of orepared milk needed for the 2* hours is stirred into the gruel immediately it is strained. The mixture can then be brought to 160deg Fahr., should be kept covered, and should be cooled -rapidly in water and kept in a cool 6afe. Even if the Humanised Milk No. 2 has to be made in the home, the preparing and mixing of it and the gruel, I etc.-, for the day's supply should not take much more than half an hour- Of course, other kitchen work can be gone on with at the same time.