HEALTH OF CHILDREN

Waikato Times, Volume 93, Issue 14493, 16 October 1920, Page 5

HEALTH OF CHILDREN

PROHIBITION OF TEA ! Published under tin: aulhorily of the Education Department;. As a beverage for children tea should I).' prohibited. Up to the age of 10 years children should not be allowed to drink it as it stimulates the nervous system. The reverse is required with children under the present conditions of life. Children arc more sensitive to stimulation and excitement than adults. Again, lea is detrimental In the digestive system in children and upsets the regular action of important organs. Tliirdlyten inlerfcreswith the cleansing action of the saliva and so contributes to riental decay. Ksj hilly If- this so when taken with cake and biscuit and white bread, and not followed by ;| cleansing food such as apple. The evil effects are more pronounced when the tea has been allowed to infuse for too long a limp. It. may be asked what may be given to children as a drink in place of tea. Water, milk and water, and cocoa are quite suitable. It should be borne in mind, however, that 100 much milk may cause digestive trouble and loss of appetite. For a healthy child on a wellbalanced diet, more than one pint of milk a day should not be given and less may suffice. Even if considered only from the poinl i ■' view of its habitproducing effect in after years, tea drinking should be prohibited till as Into an ago as possible. The morning and afternoon tea and cake habit is no| only in the vast majority of cases wholly unnecessary and wasteful, but is decidedly harmful. No healthy individual can claim to require nourishment as often as five or six limes a day.