OUR BABIES.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14323, 13 October 1910, Page 2

OUR BABIES.

IGNORANT MOTHERS. Recently attention was drawn in cur columns to the very pertinent remarks made by the linn. Dr Collins on ilia need for teaching girls matters of such practical importance in life as the composition of ml'.!;, the fermentative changes liable to take piace in it, the effects of boiling and of pasteurisation, and the methods of modifying o>' humanising milk—all this, said Or. Collins, could be legitimately taught. '•I believe you could not teach the young people anything more interesting than the study of milk." .Besides being encouraged as far as possible to lead a healthy iii'o while at school, and to avoid all unhealthy habits and undue stress in any direction during girlhood and adolescence, undoubtedly every girl ought to be made to grasp and clearly comprehend the interesting why and wherefore of the sauple, essential measures needed for ensuring the health of herself, •.he iiuine. and the family —getting these things thorouglily ingrained into her being in a practical way during the r.iest impressionable and momentous period <u life. In other words our girls ought to lead healthy lives and form and practice healthy life-habits while at school, and they ought to be taught those things which will be indispensable for the successful making of homes of their own a little later on. Most people will. 1 think, agree with the general spirit of what 1 have been saying, but sumo at the present time would dissent from the idea of instructing girls in such details as the food vaiue of milk, what harmful changes are liable to come over it in the household, and how these can be avoided in practice. Still more would they disscut from the idea of entering, as !)r C'ojiins suggests, on learning how to '-modify or humanise milk.'' But, alter all. why not ? THE STANDARD FOOD. Mi.k ii Nature's primitive, simple, complete ui luuu tor young luamj mais, aua v;ti liie composition ui milk ' au other complete diets, must bo based, I :;o;\ever they may bn modified in ae- | Ci-rdauco with the requirements of i hie. Milk iorais. the natural J staiuug-phiuo iiom Lo gain a | clear v;viv uf the iiiliuiteiy complex ! dietaries of the growing or mature | nuiiian being. Omitting water "and I immoral clutters., theia are only Uirse j tatters in tiie. chemieai competition of | miU—viz., sugae, fat, and proteid—- | ana these Dinee give us aJ so Ule esselu 1 tiai, and practically the onlv, constituents ui every mixed fowl taken later in lite. I-'rom the cottage dinner to the Lord Mayors banquet it is a. question of ringing the changes entile proiiorDions oi sugars (or starches), tats and itesh-forniing materials which, are present in all milks in the respective_ terms of Milk-sugar, Butter-fat. - and Proteid. It is quite easv - to grasp the fact that lUOoz (five "pints) or cow s nuik consist, roughly speaking, of iiugar g ounces. Iroteid ■ ...... 5 t0 4 ounce 3. *.'. ll: , 3 to 4 ounces. « ttat6r S7 ounces FUEL FOR, THE BODY. Explain to quite a. small girl that ' the Almighty puts butter.iat into iniU tor the same reason that her mother puts oil into the "keroseueneateiy- and she will be interested at once .She easily grasps the fact that the butter is burned to keep the botlv "arm, just as the kerosene is burned to -boil the kettle."' Having realised this, she becomes quite "excited when it is pointed out that if the habv had been intended to live naked iii cold water, instead of being clothed and set in air, ten times the proportion of fat would have been allowed in the milk, on account of the rapid escape of heat. She is almost fascinated to learn that tie- baby-whale is" actually given thick cream to drink—in other words, milk containing ten times the proportion of fat that a human baby draws from its mother's breast. BUILDING THE BODY. Later she. will as easily understand why Nature puts over 10 per cent, of flosh-iorming material into the milk of tluvraother rabbit, and only It percent into the milk of the human mother—especially if her attention has been drawn to the fact that her pet rabbit doubled its weight in a week; wile it takes a baby over tivo niontlis to grow irnin Sib to 101b. The n-; r l now sees how absurd it would be" to give a baby, unmodified whale's milk or mimrd.li.-d rabbit's milk, and she goes on rrom that to a. dear vision of the fact that a baby should not have unmodified cow's milk, seeing that a call grows three times as quick" ly as a baby. She is satisfied now that when cow's milk is used for the baby it needs to be specially prepared or modified. HUMANISED MILK. It is explained to her that the process uf adapting or modifying the milk of any annual so as; tn lit it for a young human being is called "humanising the milk, and she is all alive to see how this can be effected. She enters with zest into the practical "jinmanising"' of the milk needed fulsome neighbour's baby why has to bo artiiically fed. Later still, when she has had some simple elementary irssons in Phvsiclogy, the method of modifving cow's milk for the use of the babv c;m be made the tost- for practically interesting the girl in the functions of Digestion and Excretion. She can be shown the mass of tough, hard curd (mainly "flesh-forming, material 1 -' or proteidi winch it has been necssarv to take out of the cow's milk hj? means of rennet in order that* tl>" baby's digestive organs mav not lie overtaxed; and in order tlmt its kidneys may not have two or three times as much work thrust on them as they are designed to carrv out. taught in this simple, practical, progressive way by easy stages, the meaning or the term "Excretion," and :>n intelligent idea of the work involved m getting rid of waste products is readily brought heme. Tin's further enforces what has already been tamdit as to the need for thorough mastication, for not hurrying over meals, for the avoidance of indigestible food.'and the taking -of too much meat, etc I have tried above to show how eiisv it is to teach and interest even a young girl in some practical matter's concerning Health, leroiipinr- these around Milk, wlil.-h Dr Collins regards .as such an excellent subiwt for pra-

tic-al school-training. If such lessons are readily instilled and made interesting in early girlhood, how easily would they lie grasped it intelligently taught towards the eiul of school Jife. PHYSIOLOGY.

In my own opinion the simplest elements uf Phfsinlogy such as help in the formation and establishment of healthy habits during childhood in regard to fresh air, food, exercise, etc., should be taught by the parents at home. One can scarcely begin too soon. Every parent would derive heuefit from reading Coleman's little '"Health Primer." published by Macmillnns, and I advise all to procure a copy. It is sold retail at lSd in the Dominion, and its instruction and advice are sound, practical, and applicable to ■everyday life. The quotation given on page 118 of "Food and the Care of Baby" will convey some idea, ns to the simple, common-sense way in which necessary lessons are made acceptable and convincing to the child, and often the parent becomes convinced at the same time, learning what is invaluable to the whole household. I am not of opinion that much Physiology should be taught to cither girls or boys, but they should know enough tn help them to intelligent.lv form healthv habits, and to avoid the ordinary pitfalls and dangers to health, which mar the lives of the majority more or loss in the present day.