The Mother and Her Child

by William S. Sadler; Lena K. Sadler

Candy, cookies, sandwiches, or bits of cake should never be allowed between the meals.

EATING BETWEEN MEALS

Children who do not eat well at the breakfast table, if given a "piece" at 10 a. m., will not be ready for the 12 o'clock meal; and then another "piece" at 2 p. m. interferes with the normal appetite at 6 p. m. Digestion is disturbed, the nervous system irritated, and a "puny child" is often the result.

Bring the three-or-four-year-old to a well-selected breakfast some time between 7 and 8 a. m. Then nothing—absolutely nothing—but water must pass the lips between that breakfast hour and the 12 o'clock meal, which should be a good one. Then the interval until 5 or 6 p. m. is passed in the same manner. At the evening meal the appetite is again whetted: and a good appetite always means good gastric juice to digest the meal. And so, good mother, guard carefully the interval between meals if you would have good digestion and good health for the little folks.

DAILY FOOD REQUIREMENT

The following table, taken from The Science of Living,[^[4]] shows the minimum of calories or food units required by boys from five to fourteen years of age and girls from five to twelve:

Age Years	Height in inches	Weight in Pounds	Skin Surface in Sq. Ft.	Daily Calories or Food Units
5	41.57	41.09	7.9	816.2
6	43.75	45.17	8.3	855.9
7	45.74	49.07	8.8	912.4
8	47.76	53.92	9.4	981.1
9	49.69	59.23	9.9	1034.7
10	51.58	65.30	10.5	1117.5
11	53.33	70.18	11.0	1178.2
12	55.11	76.92	11.6	1254.8
13	57.21	84.85	12.4	1352.6
14	59.88	94.91	13.4	1471.3

Age Years	Height in inches	Weight in Pounds	Skin Surface in Sq. Ft.	Daily Calories or Food Units
5	41.29	39.66	7.7	784.5
6	43.35	43.28	8.1	831.9
7	45.52	47.46	8.5	881.7
8	47.58	52.04	9.2	957.1
9	49.37	57.07	9.7	1018.5
10	51.34	62.35	10.2	1081.0
11	53.42	68.84	10.7	1148.5
12	55.88	78.31	11.8	1276.8

[⁴] Sadler, William S., The Science of Living; or, The Art of Keeping Well. A. C. McClurg & Co.

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