p. 550 | THE FOOD OF CHILDREN

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 28, 1900

THE FOOD OF CHILDREN.

Good Housekeeping.

Almost every intelligent person will admit that health depends largely upon food and the manner in which it is prepared. Yet how many mothers study the needs of their children? Scientists say that the human body can be sustained in a healthy condition by consuming daily about twenty-one ounces of heaters, five ounces of muscle-making food, and two ounces or more of vitalizer. Unbolted wheat contains all these ingredients in their proper proportions. It is not to be expected that the busy housewife can stop to weigh the different articles of food, but with a little study she may learn which are heaters, muscle makers, and vitalizers, preparing the food accordingly.

Prize fighters, football players, and others engaged in athletics, are fed upon a special diet, while a raiser of blooded stock gives careful attention to the food provided. But what about our children, who will soon be the rulers of this mighty nation? How many ounces of brain or muscle food are they being provided with? Are not three fourths of them being fed just to satisfy the appetite, and without any regard to the nutritive value of the food? If the little one wants anything between meals, it is invariably given the cooky, which contains but little nutriment; and our children are thus growing up with impoverished blood, and are subject to rheumatism, paralysis, and many diseases that were seldom heard of two decades ago. In nine cases out of ten it is the manner in which they are being fed which is the cause of all the trouble. Who can remedy this evil better than the mother or the mistress of the home?

Much has been written on the subject of scientific cooking; schools and clubs have been formed for the purpose of educating the people, which would be of great benefit if put in general practice. There ought to be some means provided for arousing every mother in the land to the necessity of providing proper food for the children. . . .

A true incident will serve to illustrate: A neighbor advertised for a cook and a coachman. An applicant for the position of coachman was asked by the master of the house as to his knowledge regarding the care and feeding of fancy horses. Did he know what to do in case of overheating, and was he experienced in all that was necessary for the proper care of the team? The employer not feeling quite satisfied with his replies, he was told to call the following day for further conference. About this time an applicant for the position of cook appeared, and was questioned by the mistress, as follows: “Do you understand how to make nice pastry, waffles, muffins, griddlecakes, cakes of all kinds, cookies, and all kinds of fancy dishes?” Not a word about the nutritive value of foods!

There were five children in the family, each one needing daily the most nutritious and health-building food. The mother should have been most particular in ascertaining the cook’s knowledge regarding the foods best adapted for producing bone, muscle, fat, brain, and a strong and healthy body. Nearly every vocation in life is filled with a view to getting the most out of it and producing the best results. As the health of the family is the foundation of a useful life, the kitchen ought to be, of all departments in the household, presided over by an intelligent and scientific artist.