The baby should be fed in small quantities at regular intervals and given plenty of cold water to drink. Not until it is eleven or twelve months of age should it be given solid or semi-solid food. Even then, milk should continue to form the basis of its diet, and of this a considerable quantity should be used—about a quart a day from the twelfth month on. As the child grows older a more varied diet will be necessary. The most hygienic methods of food preparation should always be observed.
Certain foods should never be given; for example, fried foods, pastries, condiments, pickles, preserves, canned meats, fish, pork, sausage, cheap candies, coarse vegetables, unripe and overripe fruits, stimulants, foods treated with a preservative or colouring matter, and half-cooked starches.
PRELIMINARY PLAN
The teacher should talk with the pupils, in order to see what points in connection with the care of the baby it is necessary for them to know, so that they may do their work at home intelligently.
METHOD OF WORK
It will probably not be possible to have anything more than a class discussion of the points in question, but the pupils' home experiences ought to make this discussion vital. If there is a nurse in the neighbourhood who can be secured to give one lesson on the care of the baby, the teacher should supplement her own lessons by an additional lesson given by the nurse.
LESSON XVIII: COST OF FOOD, CLOTHING, AND HOUSE
SUBJECT MATTER
It is of great importance that children should learn in an elementary way the value of property. This will prepare them for the knowledge of the cost of living that is essential. They should learn that the cost of food can be decreased by having gardens, and by the proper choice, care, and handling of foods; that taking care of clothing will reduce another item of expense; and that the owning of one's own house and lot is something worth working for, in order to obviate the necessity of paying rent.