Page:Food and cookery for the sick and convalescent.djvu/57

Rh due to their being eaten between meals or in excess, which destroys the appetite for plain, wholesome food.

When the time arrives that the nap is no longer needed, which time varies with different children, three meals usually suffice. The dietary may be gradually increased, until the child is able to partake of the family menu, avoiding, of course, a night dinner. The wise mother will encourage and continue a resting time until school hours interfere, even though not followed by sleep.

The food of the child at school is of equal importance to the food of the infant. It must not be forgotten that digestive processes go on quickly, and activity is so great in childhood that an abundant supply of well-cooked, nourishing food is essential for both the development of body and mind. The irritability and weak nervous condition of school children, which is often attributed to over-study, is more often the result of excitement, want of sleep, and malnutrition.

Never allow a child to go to school without a proper breakfast, of which a cereal served with sugar and rich milk or cream should form the principal dish.

Many children enter kindergarten at the age of three and one-half or four years, most of whom carry a luncheon, a few minutes being set aside for the purpose of eating the same. This luncheon should be very simple, and limited in quantity, that the appetite may not be destroyed for the hearty dinner. In many cases where a child is fortified with a good breakfast, the luncheon would better be omitted, as the child has a better appetite and enjoyment of the midday meal. In kindergartens attended by the poor, a luncheon is an absolute necessity to the child's welfare, and fortunate is the community where an appropriation is made for the supply of milk, with bread or crackers, or occasionally hot broth in the place of milk.

If the older child attends a one-session school, the luncheon must not be overlooked. Whatever else goes into the luncheon basket, sandwiches must hold first place. If a variety is introduced and pains are taken in