DIET FOR OLDER CHILDREN MILK FOR GROWING CHILDREN—EGGS, MEAT AND FISH—BREADSTUFFS AND CEREALS—RECIPES FOR NOURISHING DISHES The emphasis laid on correct diet for babies throughout this book has doubtless impressed its readers with the realization that on good digestion the health and happiness of a child are built. The vigilance which guarded the bottle feedings and the diet of the child under three years of age should become a guard against indiscretions in feeding between his third year and his adolescence. By the time the boy passes into his teens he should be thoroughly grounded in good habits of eating—the careful mastication of food, the avoidance of extremes and excesses, regularity in meals; and let us hope that he has learned the folly of eating between meals, especially sweets. He should have a normal taste for normal, wholesome food; and he should still be eating lightly before he goes to bed. Even in the big cities, where dinner is eaten at night so that father may enjoy one good meal a day with his family, the young child should have his heaviest meal at noon, and a light supper. From the fourth to the tenth year milk should still play a considerable part in the child’s diet. It should be served once between breakfast and dinner, or dinner and supper. A glass of milk with the meal is much better than water. Tea and coffee should never be given to the growing child. He may have, all told, from one pint to one quart of milk daily; and to this may be added thin cream on his cereal and with certain simple desserts, such as baked apples. Eggs are a dependable food for the growing child. They may be soft-boiled, poached, coddled, or shirred, the latter being eggs baked in a dish that has been lightly buttered. Children should never be given fried eggs or omelets. If eggs agree with a child—and they agree with nearly all human beings—they may be given twice a day, one for breakfast and one for supper. The best meats for children are beefsteak, roast beef, roast lamb, broiled mutton chop, broiled chicken, roast young turkey. Shad, bass, and other delicate white fish may be given to the child between four and twelve years of age. Meats must be cut up fine, and fish must be freed from all bones before it is given to the child. Either meat or fish should be served with the noon meal. Plate gravy, especially from beef, is nourishing; but thickened gravy made from flour and grease or drippings, with milk or stock added, is too rich for the average juvenile stomach. Ham, bacon, pork, sausage, liver, kidneys, dried and salt meat are to be avoided, and such fish as cod, halibut, and mackerel are altogether too strong for a child until he enters his teens. White potatoes are a standby for growing children; they may be boiled, baked, or mashed; but no child should be allowed to eat fried potatoes of any sort.