The Care and Feeding of Children 1017 



mastication 

 It is important that a child should learn to masticate its food well, 

 and to this end it should have something to chew as soon as the large 

 back teeth begin to come. Tough bread, zwieback, educator crackers, 

 and, later, some meat are useful for this purpose. All of these things 

 develop the powers of mastication and give the exercise necessary to de- 

 velop the jaw and make room for the second teeth. 



EATING BETWEEN MEALS 



Again let emphasis be laid on the bad habit of allowing children to eat 

 between meals. It results in no good to the child and must be strongly- 

 condemned. If a child is habitually and really hungry between two defi- 

 nitely established meals, shorten the interval between the meals, or give 

 more food at the meal, or establish a simple meal of bread and milk at 

 a regular time between the two meals, or allow him to eat dry, unbuttered 

 bread. If dry, unbuttered bread is given, it will be found that the between- 

 meal habit exists frequently more because of a desire for something good 

 to eat than from actiial hunger. Learn to distinguish between habit and 

 hunger. It is a duty which parents owe their children and if it is neglected 

 the child may finally pay the price. 



CARE OF THE TEETH 



From the time they arrive until the time they depart, a trouble, and 

 when they are gone most trouble of all, the teeth. The teeth begin to 

 appear about the sixth month, although there is considerable variation in 

 this, as well as in the order in which they come. The following table 

 shows the usual order and time of eruption of the temporary milk teeth: 



Lower central incisors 6th to 9th month 



Upper incisors 8th to loth month 



Lower lateral incisors and first molars. ..." 15 th to 21st month 



Canines i6th to 20th month 



Second molars 20th to 30th month 



Early appearance of teeth is not uncommon and may not be indicative 

 of any wrong condition. If the teeth are delayed the cause should at 

 once be investigated, as this condition may indicate some serious defect 

 in nutrition, resulting in retarded or interrupted bone formation. Teeth- 

 ing is a normal process and should proceed fairly easily. Pain or sick- 

 ness at this time should not be overlooked or set aside as being the natural 

 result of teething. The cause may be indigestion or some deep-seated 

 malnutrition, and it should be investigated. 



