THE FEEDING OF SCHOOL-CHILDREN.
[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR:1 Sin,—I heartily agree with your article on this subject (Spectator, May 26th), and perhaps I may be allowed to make a suggestion. That child distress is caused by mal- nutrition and not hunger is too often lost sight of by social workers. It is, however, gratifying to note that municipal authorities are now establishing milk depots in order to arrest as far as possible infant mortality. But the point I wish to emphasise is that girl scholars—our mothers of the future—should be taught at school the proper diet for children from birth until they are old enough to look after themselves. I am aware that in some schools domestic economy is taught, but it deals with that part of housework which girls like least, whereas to a girl babies are a great attrac- tion, and something relating to them would secure their interest. The ignorance of some mothers on the subject of a child's food reminds me of a story told by a nurse friend of mine about a child a few months old brought into hospital in a dying state. The mother was questioned by the doctor as to what she had been giving the child by way of nourishment. "Milk, and sometimes just what I was takin' mysel'," said the mother. " Maybe a bit of ham or kipper or cheese, or whatever was gaunt' (And here let it be said that expensive in place of cheaper and more wholesome food is too often the cause of poverty in the labouring classes.) What the doctor replied can be readily imagined. But the unfortunate thing is that this is not au isolated case. However, for any woman to grow to motherhood with absolutely no idea as to the proper diet for infants is an instance that school education as it presently stands does not properly equip children for life's work. I do not minimise the need for religious instruction in schools, but we must also preserve "the temple of God," and I hold that it is as essential to teach the future mothers how to lay a good foundation of health in the rising generation as it is to teach them the " three R's." Speaking generally, we cannot have a healthy mind without a healthy body; the exception proves the rule. Therefore, if the poorer classes must work out their own salvation, the standard of their health must be improved, and I believe the best way to attain this end is to teach in schools common-sense views on infant and child feeding, so as to make healthy men and women, and by this means to chase from their present stronghold dirt, disease, and even crime.
Previous page
