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Show WHAT to EAT aeid WH Will Your Child Be Ready For School ? Noted Food Authority Outlines a Correct Diet for the Growing Youngster By C. HOUSTON GOUDISS 6 East 39th Street. New York City. WHEN school closed . last June, most parents looked forward to the long weeks ahead when their children could play in the sunshine, get plenty of rest, and build up a splendid fund of vitality to last them all through the new school year. Some mothers resolved to do everything possible to prevent pre-vent a recurrence of last season's disheartening colds. Others planned to look into a blood-building diet that would give Mary or Johnnie more pep and rosier cheeks. Perhaps Per-haps there were teeth that required re-quired attention, or a nose or throat condition to be corrected. cor-rected. Now, within a few weeks, the children will be returning re-turning to school, or in some cases beginning their school life. Every mother should ask" herself whether she has r"""" made the most of the opportunities p offered by the va- I; s, cation period. " M Have you put forth a conscien- I! tious effort toward j " J; J making your chil- f i dren 100 per cent ; " - I fit for school? If 1 1 no' there s stu ijijk 4. time! You cannot finish the job in a few weeks, but you can make a good start. And you owe it to your children to begin at once. For whether they enjoy ' school or find it tedious, whether they make excellent records or lag behind their fellows, depends in large measure upon their physical fitness. fit-ness. Every child is entitled to good health, safeguarded by high resistance. re-sistance. And in this age of amazing amaz-ing scientific discoveries, every child should enjoy these blessings. Top health and resistance to disease dis-ease are the result of an intelligently intelli-gently planned and carefully executed exe-cuted health program. It should include proper diet, adequate sleep and rest, an abundance of sunshine and fresh air, freedom from physical defects, and the avoidance of physical or mental strain, or fatigue. - Diet the Key to Health Perhaps the most important factor of all is the carefully balanced bal-anced diet. When planned to take full advantage of modern nutritional nutri-tional discoveries, it will insure normal growth and health, and build up high resistance that is like a protecting wall to safeguard your children. With our present knowledge of the power of food, there should not be one ill-nourished child in our land. Yet the spectre of malnutrition mal-nutrition rears its ugly head among children of the well-to-do as well as in homes where money is scarce. For, as a rule, it is not lack of money, but lack of knowledge of food values, or faulty eating habits which are responsible re-sponsible for the tragedy of an incorrectly fed child. -- Don't Overlook Protective Foods A child's diet should be built upon a foundation of the protec- $ tive foods milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables. Milk takes precedence over all of these because it is an absolute necessity if children are to develop strong, straight bones and sound teeth. The penalty for breaking this fundamental rule is retarded growth, fragile, crooked bones, decayed teeth and possibly nervousness. nerv-ousness. How dare any mother inflict in-flict such punishment upon her children? A fine amount of calcium, cal-cium, high grade protein, and some of every known vitamin can be furnished so easily by providing provid-ing children with a quart of milk daily either as a beverage, or in soups, cream sauces, puddings, cocoa or. with cereals. An Egg Every Day Eggs rank next to milk in importance, im-portance, because of their protein, iron and vitamins. A child's diet should normally include one egg daily, or at least three or four weekly. Green, leafy vegetables must not be neglected, as they supply iron and precious vitamins. Yellow Yel-low vegetables, such as carrots and sweet potatoes are notable as a source of vitamin A. Fruits, especially the citrus varieties, va-rieties, are important for their vitamin vi-tamin C, which helps to safeguard the health of teeth and gums. However, tomatoes, or tomato juice may also be used as a source of this vitamin. '" Bananas are an excellent fruit for children. Dried fruits furnish iron and are high in energy values. Fruits and vegetables vege-tables in general are likewise an important aid to regular elimination. elimi-nation. As a rule, school children may have lean meat, fish, chicken or liver once a day, and a second protein food, such as cheese or legumes, is usually introduced at another meal. -- Energy Foods in Abundance There must be plenty of energy foods, such as potatoes, rice, macaroni, mac-aroni, bread and butter, and cereals, ce-reals, to help prevent the physical fatigue which lowers resistance. At least one starchy food belongs in every meal. A well-cooked cereal should be provided once daily; in warm weather a ready-to-eat cereal may be used instead. In order to provide pro-vide an abundance of minerals, and vitamin B, nutritionists place emphasis upon the whole grain varieties. va-rieties. For desserts, choose rice, tapioca tapi-oca and bread puddings; gelatine, either plain or with fruit; fresh or stewed fruit; milk sherbets or ice cream. In planning meals for children, it is important at all times to keep the menus simple, and prepare foods so that they are appetizing and easily digestible. --Aids --Aids to Good Nutrition It is important also to bear in mind that the most perfect diet will not provide sound nutrition unless the food is properly digested digest-ed and assimilated. Adequate sleep and rest, which do away with fatigue, are therefore essential. essen-tial. However perfect the diet, overexertion and undue fatigue, if continued, will soon bring about a state of lowered resistance. In planning a program of daily living that will make and keep your children fit for school, put food first. But consider also rest, fresh air and sunshine, and regular regu-lar habits. It would be well, too, to check up on the child's general health before he returns to school, so that he will not be handicapped by some physical defect, such as bad teeth, diseased tonsils, faulty vision or impaired hearing all of which interfere with the ability to learn. Never forget for a moment that a child's happiness and success are closely related to his health. All mothers should remember this, for it is no exaggeration to say that THE POWER OF A NATION NA-TION DEPENDS UPON THE HEALTH OF ITS CHILDREN. WNU C. Houston Goudiss 1930 28. |