In case of intestinal diseases milk must be substituted for other diet, with decoctions of cereal flour. Furthermore, Dech-Manna chocolate and malt-chocolate, boiled in milk, are recommended.
Diet for School Children.
The appetite of children increases with their growth and years, and is always a sign of good health. Much exercise in the open air is of the greatest benefit to children. It is not, however, immaterial how children are fed. The theory that children should receive whatever is served on the family table, may be correct from the standpoint of discipline, but it may bring about trouble if the food that is offered does not agree with the stomach of the child. Food for children should be light and display variety. It is not correct to believe that what is eaten with aversion, has a healthy effect, and by forcing children to eat food against which their natural instinct rebels, parents have often seriously injured their children.
In a general way, soup, vegetables, farinaceous food or a little meat and fruit is sufficient for the principal meal.
In the morning a cup of milk, cocoa or weak coffee (fruit or malt), with a piece of bread; for anaemic children, butter and bread and honey. Prepared in various forms, plenty of milk and farinaceous food, rice, groat, oats, barley, cornmeal, fruit and cooked fruit should be eaten, which all children like and which are superior in effect, since they are so easily digested. Pure water with a little fruit-juice added occasionally; in the afternoon weak tea with milk, fruit coffee, cocoa, malt chocolate; in the summer time, cold sweet or sour milk; these should be the drinks for growing children. Bread and butter with a little marmalade is always welcome. When fruit is in season, some fresh fruit and dry bread is sufficient in the afternoon; the supper should be simple, warm or cold, but without high seasoning; potatoes with butter, soft boiled eggs, bread and ham, cold roast meat, soup or some well prepared farinaceous food one hour before bedtime. Food should not be served very hot, should be well masticated and eaten with little to drink during the meal. It is better to take a glass of water before the meal.
Alcoholic drinks are strictly prohibited, since they produce nervous irritation and make study much harder.
Game, when not too high and without spice is good for growing children. Dishes prepared from internal organs, such as liver, kidneys and brains, are usually repugnant to children, and should be avoided. Steamed vegetables are preferable to those cooked with sauce. Salads for children should not be highly seasoned, but should be prepared with butter, cream and lemon juice, in which form they are of great nutritive value. Avoid delicacies and mayonnaise dressing. Ice cream is the delight of most children. Permit small quantities, but eaten with crisp biscuit only, so as to avoid catarrh of the stomach.
Children should have one or two meals between the regular meals. Greatest variety should prevail at dinner and supper, and the favorite dishes of the various children should be served from time to time.
Taste and appetite are the means by which the intestinal organs express what they consider most suitable for the system. That which tastes good not only influences the health of the body, but also the mental condition of the child. Proper food, ample time for play and much fresh air will make the physician's visit a rare necessity. However, if a child becomes ill, medical advice should be obtained immediately and followed strictly, thus avoiding many sad experiences.
Nearly all forms of children's disease are combined with fever, and even without any of the characteristic symptoms of the various forms of disease, children are often subject to more or less intense attacks of fever. Therefore, in the following pages I am giving an extensive description of fever from a biological standpoint, together with its dietetic treatment—not cure for, as will be seen, fever in itself is not a disease, but the attempt of nature to get rid of a disease.