and disrepute — that little boys and girls should be seen and not heard. Kemember- ing how much easier it is to check a habit at the outset than to break it ofif after it is fully formed, the father and mother should watch theiB children's table manners, and repress at once the carelessness and unpleasant tricks that seem, possibly through original sin, to come naturally to most little folk. The correct handling of spoon, fork, and knife should be taught as soon as they are permit- ted to use these implements, and slovenliness should be rebuked and held up as a disgrace. Not least in importance is it that the father and mother should, after due consideration, establish an outline of diet for the young- sters, and allow no divergence therefrom. By " an outline of diet " is not meant an unvarying rotation of viands as wearying and de-appetizing to the child as it would be to his elders, but a scheme of nourishment by which hurtful articles of food will be eliminated from the bill of fare, and only wholesome ones admitted. A great deal of careful thought is often necessary in the for- 249 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SEBVS IT mulation of such menus, for children have as many gastric idiosyncrasies as grown peo- ple, and frequently these are only disclosed little by little. In illustration of this may be cited the case of a handsome, healthy boy baby who, although a victim to colic during the first months of his life, gave no other evidences of eccentricity of digestion until he was nearly three years old. At that time the mother began to notice that his breath was often sour, and that he complained oc- casionlly of pain in the stomach and bowels. His dietary had always been so simple that she was at firat puzzled to understand what could be the disturbing cause. After sundry experiments and careful observation, she finally ascertained that the discomfort and bad breath followed any unusual eating of sweets, although it might be only such sim- ple desserts as bread and syrup, bread and jelly, plain cookies, or home-made sponge- cake, or even an infrequent lump of sugar. She put an embargo upon sweets, and found an almost immediate improvement. Further investigation demonstrated that an 250 THE children's TABLE occasional indulgence — say once a day — pro- duced no evil consequences, but that more frequent treats of this sort had painful sequelce. Her course thereafter was plain and easily followed. A child's breakfast should always begin with some cereal, but this need not invari- ably be oatmeal. Other preparations often agree better with the children, and a variety is preferable to the monotonous use of the one kind of porridge. Gruels or porridges of farina, corn-starch, rice -flour, corn -meal, hominy, arrowroot, wheat-germ meal, or ce- realine are nearly all relished by the babies, and should be accompanied by milk in any amount, but no sugar. If the child has never been accustomed to the latter, he will eat quite as heartily without it. If the porridge is properly prepared, the little ones will usually make their chief breakfast from it, with milk or milk-and-wa- ter as a beverage. Tea, coffee, or chocolate should be tabooed. The children are better off without any of the three, although some mild preparation of cocoa is probably the 251 WHAT TO EAT — HOW TO SERVE IT least harmful drink they can have other than milk or cold — not iced — water.

AI-modernized reading of the original text

and disrepute — that little boys and girls should be seen and not heard. Remembering how much easier it is to check a habit at the outset than to break it ofif after it is fully formed, the father and mother should watch their children's table manners, and repress at once the carelessness and unpleasant tricks that seem, possibly through original sin, to come naturally to most little folk. The correct handling of spoon, fork, and knife should be taught as soon as they are permitted to use these implements, and slovenliness should be rebuked and held up as a disgrace. Not least in importance is it that the father and mother should, after due consideration, establish an outline of diet for the youngsters, and allow no divergence therefrom. By " an outline of diet " is not meant an unvarying rotation of viands as wearying and de-appetizing to the child as it would be to his elders, but a scheme of nourishment by which hurtful articles of food will be eliminated from the bill of fare, and only wholesome ones admitted. A great deal of careful thought is often necessary in the for- mulation of such menus, for children have as many gastric idiosyncrasies as grown people, and frequently these are only disclosed little by little. In illustration of this may be cited the case of a handsome, healthy boy baby who, although a victim to colic during the first months of his life, gave no other evidences of eccentricity of digestion until he was nearly three years old. At that time the mother began to notice that his breath was often sour, and that he complained occasionally of pain in the stomach and bowels. His dietary had always been so simple that she was at first puzzled to understand what could be the disturbing cause. After sundry experiments and careful observation, she finally ascertained that the discomfort and bad breath followed any unusual eating of sweets, although it might be only such simple desserts as bread and syrup, bread and jelly, plain cookies, or home-made spongecake, or even an infrequent lump of sugar. She put an embargo upon sweets, and found an almost immediate improvement. Further investigation demonstrated that an THE children's TABLE occasional indulgence — say once a day — produced no evil consequences, but that more frequent treats of this sort had painful sequelae. Her course thereafter was plain and easily followed. A child's breakfast should always begin with some cereal, but this need not invariably be oatmeal. Other preparations often agree better with the children, and a variety is preferable to the monotonous use of the one kind of porridge. Gruels or porridges of farina, corn-starch, rice -flour, corn -meal, hominy, arrowroot, wheat-germ meal, or cerealine are nearly all relished by the babies, and should be accompanied by milk in any amount, but no sugar. If the child has never been accustomed to the latter, he will eat quite as heartily without it. If the porridge is properly prepared, the little ones will usually make their chief breakfast from it, with milk or milk-and-water as a beverage. Tea, coffee, or chocolate should be tabooed. The children are better off without any of the three, although some mild preparation of cocoa is probably the least harmful drink they can have other than milk or cold — not iced — water.

What to eat, how to serve it