It must be kept in mind that the digestive powers of the infant develop very gradually, so we must increase the kind and the quantity of the food slowly to meet this development. New foods should be introduced into the diet, one at a time, and in small quantities to begin with. Up to the time a child is five years old milk remains the staple of the diet. He should have from three cups to a quart daily, care being always taken to have it clean and fresh. Cereal is the next food to be added to the child's diet. This is used in the form of gruel for some months mixed with the milk, then it can be used in the form of a cereal jelly where the very thoroughly cooked mush is strained to remove the husks. This is served with milk. Later, as the child grows older, he can be given the mush unstrained. For this purpose oatmeal can be varied with cream of wheat, wheatena, pettijohn's, rice, or shredded wheat. The last is best used by pouring boiling water on it first to soften it before adding the milk.

Regular feeding hours

Cereal gruels

Milk and cereal should be the basis of a child's diet until he is two years old, although other foods can be added to give variety. An egg may be used occasionally, though never more than one a day, either in cooking, as in the form of custard, or boiled. To the orange juice already in use, other fruit juices may be added and even the strained pulp of prunes or apples. The fruit should be mostly cooked, although the raw fruit of the fleshy kinds, such as peaches and pears, occasionally will not harm if they are thoroughly ripe. No bananas should be given raw to a child, although they may be used steamed or baked. A green vegetable should be given in the middle of every day. It should be strained at first but can later be given cut up fine. The vegetables that are the best to begin with are the mild ones, such as spinach, peas, green beans, asparagus tips, etc. A child should be encouraged to eat hard breadstuffs, such as the crust of the bread and zwieback, for the good of his teeth. He should never be allowed to have fresh bread or hot biscuits. Between the ages of three and five a child may be given a little meat, but never more than once a day, and never any pork products except bacon. It is well to vary the meat by using in its place the white fish such as cod and haddock. If children are allowed to eat a good deal of meat they will not eat the amount of cereal and milk which they ought to, because the meat has so much more flavor and is better liked. Never give fried food of any kind to the child, especially fried potatoes.

Other additions to the diet

There is no harm in keeping the child on a fairly uniform diet. For this reason it is better that he should have his meals away from the family where there will be no temptation to give him tastes of the food which the family is having. If he does not know what more elaborate food tastes like, he will have no desire for it. It is very essential that he should have his meals at regular intervals and that he should be taught from the very beginning to eat everything that is placed before him. A child develops whims and fancies very quickly and if these are allowed to grow he will become a nuisance to himself and to others. It should always be taken as a matter of course that what he is given to eat must be eaten without any question on his part. If the mother knows that a certain food is distasteful to the child, she should only give him a very small amount of that food at a time, say only a teaspoonful, but all that she gives him should be eaten before he is allowed to have his dessert. It is only by establishing such habits early that there will be any comfort to be had in later years.

Good table manners should also be established in early years. A child learns more through imitation than through precept, although the mother has to keep constant watch over the size of the mouthfuls taken and the way the food is chewed. If a child does not chew his food thoroughly it will not be properly digested and he cannot get full value from it.

Good habits formed early

A child at this period of from two to five should be having his food in three regular meals a day with a light lunch in the middle of the morning. The time for these may vary with the habits of the household but if it is possible, it is well that breakfast should be from half-past seven to eight, dinner at half-past twelve or one, and supper from five to half-past. His breakfast should consist of the juice of an orange or some other fruit, a good-sized dish of cooked cereal with top milk on it, a soft-boiled egg, a slice of buttered toast and a glass of milk. He should have another glass of milk and a piece of bread and butter between half-past ten and eleven. For dinner he could have a broth made from mutton or beef in which rice or barley has been cooked, or he could have a small piece of rare beefsteak, the heart of a chop, or a little white fish. With this he could have a baked potato or boiled rice or macaroni and a vegetable, and for dessert he could have the inside of a baked apple, apple sauce, or a pudding, such as baked custard, a simple rice pudding, bread pudding, or a thoroughly cooked, plain cornstarch pudding. He could also have fruit jelly served with cream or a simple ice cream. For supper he should again have a dish of cereal and milk as a basis. With this he could have stewed prunes or apple sauce or baked apples if he has not had them at noon. He could also have a cup of weak cocoa, a slice of bread and butter, a plain cooky, or a piece of simple cake. He should never have fried foods nor rich foods of any sort.

Food for child 2 to 5 years old

If it is desirable for the child to have a piece of candy-as a reward of merit, which frequently is a far better scheme than punishment, this may best be given immediately after breakfast or dinner. It should never be given between meals. No food of any kind, in fact, should be allowed except at the regular meal hours. If a child has plenty of the right kind of food at regular intervals he does not want anything else to eat. If, however, he is really hungry, he may safely be given a plain piece of bread. It is not often that he is hungry enough for this. What he wants is a cooky or the jam on his bread which would spoil his appetite for his regular meals.