Better babies and their care

by Anna Steese Richardson

Prune Pulp—Cook one pound of prunes slowly in a little water until they are quite soft. Strain and rub through a coarse sieve.

Junket—One quart of fresh hot milk, sweetened to taste, and allowed to cool slightly; add two tablespoons liquid rennet. Place on the ice in wet molds. Do not stir or strain it. Serve cold with sweetened cream.

Whey—One pint of fresh milk warmed, but not above 100° F. Add two teaspoons liquid rennet or essence of pepsin; stir slightly, then allow it to stand until jellied; break up the curd with a fork and strain off the whey through muslin. Place on ice.

Bran Biscuits—One pint of flour, one quart of bran, one teaspoon baking soda, twelve tablespoons molasses, one teaspoon salt, one pint of milk. Mix and bake in muffin rings.

Good Luncheon Dish—Butter a small baking dish lightly; spread over bottom of dish finely broken crackers (not cracker dust) and moisten slightly with rich milk; break an egg carefully on this, and then cover with more broken crackers moistened with the milk, and salted. Bake a couple of minutes in oven so that the egg is about as firm as a well poached egg. This is a most nourishing dish.

The mother who guards her child’s diet not only during that danger period of teething and weaning but during those years when he seems to sprout like a young human weed, demanding the very highest form of nourishment, may feel assured that she is laying the foundation for his future health and happiness. You cannot make good citizens out of dyspeptics. You cannot rear a generation of sturdy mothers from girls who drink soda-water instead of milk, who eat candy instead of custards, rich fried potatoes instead of nourishing baked ones, fancy dishes of meat, gravy, and pastry instead of wholesome beefsteak and mutton chops. It is a mistake to think because a child who is growing will eat almost anything, that almost anything will nourish a growing body.

Better babies mean better children in the public schools; but neglect in the matter of diet will soon turn those better children into sickly citizens.

The vigilance of the mother in the matters of diet, hours of sleep, bathing, and fresh air should not relax until after her children have passed successfully through the period of adolescence and have been launched into strong, sturdy men and women, with their habits so firmly fixed that the maternal influence in food as in morals goes out into the world with them.