CHILD CARE, NUTRITION AND NATURE REMEDIES
The more quiet and simple the life of the child, the more favorable it will be to both physical and mental development. At all times the mother should endeavor to be quiet, calm, and self-possessed. Many infants are extremely susceptible to nervous excitement, and the mother’s gentle, unhurried manner will have a soothing influence that will be of untold benefit to the child. {MH 381.1}
The best food for the infant is the food that nature provides. Of this it should not be needlessly deprived. It is a heartless thing for a mother, for the sake of convenience or social enjoyment, to seek to free herself from the tender office of nursing her little one. {MH 383.1}
Babies require warmth, but a serious error is often committed in keeping them in overheated rooms, deprived to a great degree of fresh air. The practice of covering the infant’s face while sleeping is harmful, since it prevents free respiration.
The baby should be kept free from every influence that would tend to weaken or to poison the system. The most scrupulous care should be taken to have everything about it sweet and clean. While it may be necessary to protect the little ones from sudden or too great changes of temperature, care should be taken, that, sleeping or waking, day or night, they breathe a pure, invigorating atmosphere.
In the preparation of the baby’s wardrobe, convenience, comfort, and health should be sought before fashion or a desire to excite admiration. The mother should not spend time in embroidery and fancywork to make the little garments beautiful, thus taxing herself with unnecessary labor at the expense of her own health and the health of her child. She should not bend over sewing that severely taxes eyes and nerves, at a time when she needs much rest and pleasant exercise. She should realize her obligation to cherish her strength, that she may be able to meet the demands that will be made upon her.
If the dress of the child combines warmth, protection, and comfort, one of the chief causes of irritation and restlessness will be removed. The little one will have better health, and the mother will not find the care of the child so heavy a tax upon her strength and time.
Tight bands or waists hinder the action of the heart and lungs, and should be avoided. No part of the body should at any time be made uncomfortable by clothing that compresses any organ or restricts its freedom of movement. The clothing of all children should be loose enough to admit of the freest and fullest respiration, and so arranged that the shoulders will support its weight.
In some countries the custom of leaving bare the shoulders and limbs of little children still prevails. This custom cannot be too severely condemned. The limbs being remote from the center of circulation, demand greater protection than the other parts of the body. The arteries that convey the blood to the extremities are large, providing for a sufficient quantity of blood to afford warmth and nutrition. But when the limbs are left unprotected or are insufficiently clad, the arteries and veins become contracted, the sensitive portions of the body are chilled, and the circulation of the blood hindered.
In growing children all the forces of nature need every advantage to enable them to perfect the physical frame. If the limbs are insufficiently protected, children, and especially girls, cannot be out of doors unless the weather is mild. So they are kept in for fear of the cold. If children are well clothed, it will benefit them to exercise freely in the open air, summer or winter.
Mothers who desire their boys and girls to possess the vigor of health should dress them properly and encourage them in all reasonable weather to be much in the open air. It may require effort to break away from the chains of custom, and dress and educate the children with reference to health; but the result will amply repay the effort
If children are disciplined aright, they will soon learn that they can receive nothing by crying or fretting. A judicious mother will act in training her children, not merely in regard to her own present comfort, but for their future good. And to this end she will teach her children the important lesson of controlling the appetite, and of self-denial, that they should eat, drink, and dress in reference to health. {CD 228.4}
WHAT ABOUT THE DIET?
Diet
Grains should not be introduced until after the infant cuts teeth. Saliva contains the starch-splitting enzyme alpha-amylase needed to digest grains. This enzyme does not develop in an infant’s saliva until the teeth are present. Therefore, introducing grains too early can result in food allergies later.
Children need a balanced diet of fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, and nuts. Large amounts of raw foods are excellent for the child and easy for moms to serve. Especially vital are the colorful vegetables and fruits. These contain important carotenes and flavonoids that are high in antioxidant activity. [Carotenes, which convert into vitamin A, lower the risk of cancer, enhance the immune system, and fight free radicals. Flavonoids are anti-inflammatory, antiallergic, antiviral, anticarcinogenic agents that support joint structures and benefit collagen, which holds together tissues of the body].
HOW TO TREAT COLIC IN CHILDREN
COLIC
Catnip and chamomile tea will help eliminate colic in your baby. Make a tea from either of these herbs and place a couple teaspoons of cooled tea in the baby’s bottle. Also, be sure to check what the mother is eating if she is breast-feeding the infant.
A tablespoonful steeped in a pint of water used as an enema is soothing and quieting, and very effective in insanity, fevers, expelling worms in children; also fits.
WHAT ABOUT DILL?
The leaves and seed have been used in putting up pickles, but pickles should never be introduced into the stomach. Dill has been used to flavor other foods also. Dill is an old-fashioned stomach remedy. It prevents gas and fermentation. It is a splendid remedy for colic in children and can be used in hot milk-soy milk. Very quieting to the nerves, useful in swellings and pains, and stops hiccoughs.
Diarrhea
1 teaspoon of charcoal in olive oil taken 3 times daily. You may also place powdered charcoal in a nursing bottle filled with water. If the stomach is very irritated do not use charcoal as such, but let water stand over 1/4 cup powdered charcoal or tablets in a 2-quart jar, pour off clear fluid on top, and use for all drinking water.
Thin rice or barley water will also check diarrhea in an infant. This should be given until the looseness is stopped.
Fresh lemon juice in pure water will relieve diarrhea.
Slippery elm is excellent also for relief.
Raw carob powder can also end this problem.
Carrots for diarrhea
Scrub 3-4 large carrots well, chop finely, and cook in one cup of water for 15 minutes, or until soft. Strain through a fine strainer and add enough water to make a quart. For infants, or very small children, put this in a nursing bottle.
Give cool sips of water during treatment and make sure the child is not dehydrated. Even if all the treatments below are given, the fever may not go down if the child is dehydrated.
FLEABANE/Horse weed
Excellent for cholera, dysentery, and summer complaint, especially for children, when all other remedies fail. In these affections, use also as an enema. Steep a teaspoonful in a quart of boiling water for twenty minutes, excellent remedy for all colon troubles. Can be improved by taking equal parts of albizia bark , wild alum root, and catnip. Taken internally it is very reliable for bladder troubles, scalding urine, and hemorrhages from the bowels and uterus. Good for consumption.
FEVER IN CHILDREN
The best treatment for fever is a brief exposure to heat in a hot water bath (100 degrees or slightly above) while being careful not to burn the delicate skin of the baby, or alternating hot and cold applications of water. To do this, place a dry towel on the child’s chest and then place over it a second towel that has been first dipped in warm water, and then wrung out. After 4 minutes remove towels and take a cold wash rag and rub the area for 30 seconds. Repeat this procedure three times. This will treat not only the fever, but the underlying infection by activating the white blood cells and the immune system.
A cool-tepid enema may be given with excellent results. Catnip tea is very good for fevers and may be added to the enema bottle.
A tea made of yarrow OR (HORSE WEED) or red raspberry OR LEMON GRASS is excellent. A tea of either peppermint, catnip, or slippery elm is also helpful. These teas provide nutrition and induce sweating.
A tablespoon or two of fresh lemon juice may be given to the child to reduce the fever. Only fruit should be eaten.
Make sure the bowels are clean and moving. If they are not, it may be necessary to do an enema. If a child is just coming down with a cold, do a fever bath to increase the immune system’s ability to fight the cold. You may also give goldenseal, garlic, or echinacea tea, or drops, to the child every four hours.
Cough syrup
1 lemon
Pineapple juice
Bake the lemon at 350 degrees until it loses juice through the skin (about 15–20 minutes). Cool slightly, squeeze out all the juice into a measuring cup, and add the same amount of unsweetened pineapple juice. Then add just enough honey to sweeten it a little. Take 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed. Honey removes mucus and eases coughing. It also helps to control infection. Lemon will ease a sore throat, contains antibiotic properties, while the acid in the lemon turns alkaline in the body and thus becomes a cleansing agent. Pineapple combats infections of the throat and body. The lemon and pineapple juice combined disintegrates the mucus in the throat. The lemon and pineapple juice combined disintegrates the mucus in the throat.
Chest congestions
For Congestion:
Put several drops of eucalyptus oil in a humidifier, and let it run throughout the night in the child’s room; or place drops in a pan on the stove, heat and have the child inhale the steam, being cautious around the stove.
Place diced potatoes and onions in a pan, boil gently, and have the child inhale the steam. This mixture has properties to relieve congestion.
You may also give a steam bath with eucalyptus oil in the water, or rub peppermint oil on the child’s chest to break up congestion.
Natural Remedies for Earaches
Garlic oil for infection. Place 1-2 drops in ear daily.
Mullein oil for the pain. Place 1-2 drops in ear daily. These two together work wonders.
Cut onion in half, bake it for 5 minutes, then cool and tie it over the ear. This will give relief when pain is severe, and it also has antibiotic properties.
A lobelia, or slippery elm, poultice is very effective in treating the inflammation and pain.
A hot foot bath, with powdered mustard in it, often gives relief.
A poultice made of charcoal and placed on the ear will help relieve the pain and draw out the infection.
Hot foot bath, as described above, with fomentation extending from one ear across the throat to the other ear will frequently help. Remove the fomentation occasionally; then rub with ice water, and dry.
Give bifidus acidophilus—it will restore the good stomach flora the antibiotics destroy and fight the bad bacteria.
Sage
Will expel worms in adults and children.
EXPELLING WORMS AND PARASITES IN CHILDREN
Pinworms, tapeworms, and roundworms are parasites existing in the intestinal tract. The three
most common types of worms found in the body are: the thread or seat worms (Oxyurix vermicularis), the roundworm (Ascares lumbricoides–lumbrici), and the tapeworm (Taeince-taenia solium, Bothriocephalus latus). There are other less-common worm types that enter the body, such as hookworms (Ancylostoma duodenal, Nectar Americanus) and those of unclean pork (Trichinella spiralis), which thrive upon various conditions of filth and degeneration.
Symptoms
Restlessness at night, picking the nose, gritting the teeth, itching at anus, dry cough, etc. Worms
sometimes cause spasms, fits or convulsions.
Cause
Poor diet, poor hygiene, and constipation are usually the problem. Worms are found when the stomach is deranged from eating improper foods. Worms are the effect. The cause of the worms is improper diet–the lack of wholesome foods (do not use processed or refined foods) and heavy mucus and starchy food intake. To work on the effect and rid the body of worms is like killing the flies and leaving the garbage–which has attracted them–in the same foul condition.
ATTENTION ATTENTION PARENTS…
What the parents are, that, to a great extent, the children will be. The physical conditions of the parents, their dispositions and appetites, their mental and moral tendencies, are, to a greater or less degree, reproduced in their children
The nobler the aims, the higher the mental and spiritual endowments, and the better developed the physical powers of the parents, the better will be the life equipment they give their children. In cultivating that which is best in themselves, parents are exerting an influence to mold society and to uplift future generations
Fathers and mothers need to understand their responsibility. The world is full of snares for the feet of the young. Multitudes are attracted by a life of selfish and sensual pleasure. They cannot discern the hidden dangers or the fearful ending of the path that seems to them the way of happiness. Through the indulgence of appetite and passion, their energies are wasted, and millions are ruined for this world and for the world to come. Parents should remember that their children must encounter these temptations. Even before the birth of the child, the preparation should begin that will enable it to fight successfully the battle against evil.
Especially does responsibility rest upon the mother. She, by whose lifeblood the child is nourished and its physical frame built up, imparts to it also mental and spiritual influences that tend to the shaping of mind and character. It was Jochebed, the Hebrew mother, who, strong in faith, was “not afraid of the king’s commandment” (Hebrews 11:23), of whom was born Moses, the deliverer of Israel. It was Hannah, the woman of prayer and self-sacrifice and heavenly inspiration, who gave birth to Samuel, the heaven-instructed child, the incorruptible judge, the founder of Israel’s sacred schools. It was Elizabeth the kinswoman and kindred spirit of Mary of Nazareth, who was the mother of the Saviour’s herald.
TEMPERANCE
The effect of prenatal influences is by many parents looked upon as a matter of little moment; but heaven does not so regard it. The message sent by an angel of God, and twice given in the most solemn manner, shows it to be deserving of our most careful thought.
In the words spoken to the Hebrew mother, God speaks to all mothers in every age. “Let her beware,” the angel said; “all that I commanded her let her observe.” The well-being of the child will be affected by the habits of the mother. Her appetites and passions are to be controlled by principle. There is something for her to shun, something for her to work against, if she fulfills God’s purpose for her in giving her a child. If before the birth of her child she is self-indulgent, if she is selfish, impatient, and exacting, these traits will be reflected in the disposition of the child. Thus many children have received as a birthright almost unconquerable tendencies to evil.
But if the mother unswervingly adheres to right principles, if she is temperate and self-denying, if she is kind, gentle, and unselfish, she may give her child these same precious traits of character. Very explicit was the command prohibiting the use of wine by the mother. Every drop of strong drink taken by her to gratify appetite endangers the physical, mental, and moral health of her child, and is a direct sin against her Creator.
Many advisers urge that every wish of the mother should be gratified; that if she desires any article of food, however harmful, she should freely indulge her appetite. Such advice is false and mischievous. The mother’s physical needs should in no case be neglected. Two lives are depending upon her, and her wishes should be tenderly regarded, her needs generously supplied. But at this time above all others she should avoid, in diet and in every other line, whatever would lessen physical or mental strength. By the command of God Himself she is placed under the most solemn obligation to exercise self-control.
EXCEPTS FROM THE BOOK MINISTRY OF HEALING PGS 372/373
HERBAL REMEDIES
Pumpkin Seeds: A simple herbal aid for a mild case of worms is to use pumpkin seeds (Cucurbitaceae). It is best when fresh seeds are used. To make the infusion, steep one ounce of crushed seeds for fifteen to twenty minutes in a pint of boiling hot water.
Dosage: One teacupful or more (up to one pint daily), six days a week for one to three weeks. Also eat one to two ounces of the pumpkin seeds each day-FOR ADULTS OR OLDER CHILDREN
Another “Seed” Aid is to Combine the Following:
1 part pumpkin seeds, crushed
1 part watermelon seeds, crushed
1 part cucumber seeds, crushed
Dosage: Take one pint of emulsion (two ounces of seeds triturated in honey and distilled water) in doses at two hour intervals; or take one to two tablespoons of the crushed seeds in honey, syrup, etc., in three doses at two hour intervals. FOR A SMALL CHILD GIVE 2 TBPS.
Start feeding the child fruits, vegetables, and nuts with plenty of whole, uncracked, presoaked, low-heated grains.
Also, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. By using this procedure we are getting to the cause, cleaning it up so there will be no recurrence. Be sure the child drinks at least one ounce of steam distilled water daily for each pound of body weight–32 pounds, then 32 ounces of distilled water, 100 pounds of body weight, 100 ounces, etc.
In addition to the above deworming procedures, some herbalists claim it is good to insert a peeled button of garlic into the rectum each night, six days a week, rest one day and repeat six days a week for several months (or, give crushed garlic enemas). This will strengthen the bowel area, cut infections down, aid hemorrhoid area, and assist in discouraging worms. Keep the bowel area clean always if you want a healthy happy child.
Garlic: Give 10-30 drops of the fresh juice or 1 teaspoon of garlic syrup.
Fungus/Yeast infections
Ringworm–Cut open a lemon and rub the area with the juice. Repeat several times daily.
[Note: Colloidal Silver will usually stop it dead in one application!]
Hiccoughs–Place juice of orange or lemon on the tongue; then swallow.
Athlete’s foot–Squeeze the juice from one lemon; add a small amount of water if needed. Soak the foot in this for ten or more minutes at least once a day. Colloidal Silver will usually stop it dead in one application!]
Coconut as antibacterial
Kills viruses that cause influenza, herpes, measles, hepatitis C, SARS, AIDS, and other illnesses.
Kills bacteria that cause ulcers, throat infections, urinary tract infections, gum disease and cavities, pneumonia, and gonorrhea, and other diseases.
Kills fungi and yeasts that cause candidiasis, ringworm, athlete’s foot, thrush, diaper rash, and other infections.
Expels or kills tapeworms, lice, giardia, and other parasites.
Provides a nutritional source of quick energy.
Boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance.
Improves digestion and absorption of other nutrients including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids.
Improves insulin secretion and utilization of blood glucose.
First aid
Insect bites–If wasp or bee sting, remove stinger first; take a Band-Aid and wet the gauze part, dip in charcoal and place on the bite. Replace, as needed, until pain and itching is gone.
Burns–(including carpet, grass, cement burns, etc.). Cut off an aloe vera leaf, split it open, and lay the inside of the leaf on the burn. Band-Aid, or tape, the leaf on. Repeat when the leaf is dry. Tofu is also an excellent thing to put on burns. It can relieve pain and prevent blistering.
Sprains–Put ice on them (20 minutes on and 20 minutes off, several times), and then use hot and cold water treatments, either with fomentations or by soaking in water.
Measles in children
A contagious eruptive fever with cold and catarrhal symptoms, due to a filterable virus (germs and bacteria surging out of the body through the skin)-measles is one of nature’s methods of Housecleaning.
This is mainly a child’s disease, although older people sometimes contract it. It is an infectious
febrile affliction, characterized by round red eruptions on the skin, and catarrhal inflammation of
the mucous membrane passages. It begins after two weeks incubation with the common cold (coryza), cough, inflammation of the conjunctive (referred to as conjunctivitis), and the appearance of small red spots surrounded by white areas. On the third or fourth day of chills and fever, dark rose-red maculopapular eruptions appear (concentric and confluent groups) on the face or behind the ears. In three or four days the eruption fades, and the skin sheds or peels (including the mucous membranes). Measles begin with sneezing and dry coughing, redness of the eyes and sensitivity to light. The red rash appears on the fourth day. The fever subsides on the sixth day, and peeling continues until the ninth to eleventh days.
German measles are not quite so severe as red measles (although, of course, dangerous to a pregnant woman and the unborn child). After an incubation period of one to three weeks, the disease German measles begins with a slight fever and catarrhal symptoms, sore throat, pain in the limbs, and the appearance of an eruption of red papules similar to those of measles but lighter in color, not arranged in crescentic masses, and disappearing–without scaling or flaking–within a week.
Cause
Measles is evidence that the body is loaded with toxic poison and is trying to expel it with the Assistance of nature. Microorganisms are brought into activity by nature as the cleansing scavengers.
General Instructions
This disease must be brought to the surface through the skin as rapidly as possible. Diaphoretic herbs such as yarrow / horse weed, lemon grass and raspberry leaf are excellent. Use vapor baths
(such as ginger, mustard and cayenne) which bring the toxic wastes to a head quickly. Moisture is
required or the organic calcium will turn into inorganic calcium because of the feverish dry body
heat, which causes further tissue damage. Rheumatic fever is often the aftermath of diseases such
as chicken pox and measles. Take care of the bronchi and the eyes. Avoid bright light, since the
eyes are weak at this time. The bowels should be kept open with the lower bowel tonic.
You can use neem leaves for a vapour bath.
A catnip enema is soothing and beneficial. Ripe fruits will assist in the cleansing process.
General Instructions Especially for Children
If the child is slow in breaking out, give a good for Measles hot bath. It is important to clean out the bowels, so give the patient a warm catnip (tea) enema each day. Put him to bed and give a tea made of equal parts of horse weed and lemon grass (use mulberry leaves too). Give this tea freely to produce perspiration which will also lower the fever. (Red sage, red raspberry leaf or camomile teas are also excellent for a patient with measles.) Also, a pleasant herbal tea made of equal parts catnip, raspberry leaf, peppermint leaf, can be given freely throughout the day. It is best to keep the room dark so that the eyes will not become irritated. In the event the child’s eyes do become sore, bathe them two or three times a day with a solution (tea) made of equal parts of acacia leaf , raspberry leaf, and golden seal. If the child complains of itching, bathe or sponge the skin with a tea made of yellow dock and burdock root and/or golden seal. Adding a little apple cider vinegar to a tub of bath water is also helpful. Guard the patient against bronchial troubles and earache and have him drink plenty of liquids (distilled water, herbal teas, as recommended, and fruit juices).
The diet should be simple–plenty of fresh ripe fruit, fruit juices and fresh vegetable juice. One very good combination is carrot juice with celery, spinach and parsley juice added to taste.
Horse weed and lemon grass : If you give the tea to children during the early stages of eruptive diseases, such as measles, chicken pox, smallpox, etc., the tea will help the disease to break out more quickly and
thus shorten the time. Anytime there is a fever, no matter what the disease, Yarrow can help break it and bring the disease to a speedier ending.
GARLIC/RAW HONEY / GINGER/LEMON JUICE
Grate 3 cloves of purple garlic
3 tbsps of raw honey
A thumb piece of ginger
2 lemons
¼ glass of warm water.
Blend together
Give 2 teaspoons after every hour until relief is experienced.
STRICT TEMPERANCE TO BE TAUGHT TO THE CHILDREN
Not only the habits of the mother, but the training of the child were included in the angel’s instruction to the Hebrew parents. It was not enough that Samson, the child who was to deliver Israel, should have a good legacy at his birth. This was to be followed by careful training. From infancy he was to be trained to habits of strict temperance.
Similar instruction was given in regard to John the Baptist. Before the birth of the child, the message sent from heaven to the father was:
“Thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and he shall drink no wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Luke 1:14, 15, A.R.V.
On heaven’s record of noble men the Saviour declared that there stood not one greater than John the Baptist. The work committed to him was one demanding not only physical energy and endurance, but the highest qualities of mind and soul. So important was right physical training as a preparation for this work that the highest angel in heaven was sent with a message of instruction to the parents of the child.
The directions given concerning the Hebrew children teach us that nothing which affects the child’s physical well-being is to be neglected. Nothing is unimportant. Every influence that affects the health of the body has its bearing upon mind and character.
Too much importance cannot be placed upon the early training of children. The lessons learned, the habits formed, during the years of infancy and childhood, have more to do with the formation of the character and the direction of the life than have all the instruction and training of after years.
Parents need to consider this. They should understand the principles that underlie the care and training of children. They should be capable of rearing them in physical, mental, and moral health. Parents should study the laws of nature. They should become acquainted with the organism of the human body. They need to understand the functions of the various organs, and their relation and dependence. They should study the relation of the mental to the physical powers, and the conditions required for the healthy action of each. To assume the responsibilities of parenthood without such preparation is a sin.
Far too little thought is given to the causes underlying the mortality, the disease and degeneracy, that exist today even in the most civilized and favored lands. The human race is deteriorating. More than one third die in infancy; of those who reach manhood and womanhood, by far the greater number suffer from disease in some form, and but few reach the limit of human life.
Most of the evils that are bringing misery and ruin to the race might be prevented, and the power to deal with them rests to a great degree with parents. It is not a “mysterious providence” that removes the little children. God does not desire their death. He gives them to the parents to be trained for usefulness here, and for heaven hereafter. Did fathers and mothers do what they might to give their children a good inheritance, and then by right management endeavor to remedy any wrong conditions of their birth, what a change for the better the world might see!
EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK MINISTRY OF HEALING PGS 370- 380
What Shall I Feed my Baby?
By Barbara O’Neill
What Shall I Feed my Baby?
Breast is best – God designed the woman’s anatomy with special apparatus for the function of nourishing her baby. Situated in the perfect area so she can hold and snuggle her little one whilst he is feeding, and a mother’s breasts contain the perfect amount of nutrition for every stage of baby’s development. The nutrient content of mother’s milk will change according to baby’s needs, even from week to week. Every mother’s milk is perfect for her baby. There is no equal. As baby sucks, hormones are released into the mother’s blood stream that increases the mothering instincts, thus helping her to be a more attentive mother.
It is best for baby to be trained into habits of regularity at an early age. There should be definite periods of feeding and rest. The mother needs to use discretion to read her baby’s needs. Some babies go well on three-hour feeding, some on four-hour feeding. Mother’s milk is digested much quicker than formula or other milks. Thus some babies need three-hour feeding.
Alternatives
If unforeseen circumstances arise and mother is not able to feed her baby, you can use as a substitute the formulas listed below. Milk formula made from powdered milk is ‘dead’ milk. Baby needs live milk, as breast milk is live, being full of enzymes. Here are some ‘live’ alternative milk formulas:
Almond Date Milk
1 cup almonds
2 soaked dates
1 litre water
Blend very well and strain through a fine sieve.
Banana Milk
Very ripe bananas
½ teaspoon slippery elm powder
1 litre water
Blend well.
Juice
70% carrot juice
20% apple juice
10% celery juice
The ratio for baby is 3 parts juice, 1 part water.
When is My Baby Ready to Eat?
There are three requirements necessary to ensure baby is ready for solid food. When all the following signposts are present, baby is ready for food. The age that these requirements occur can differ largely with each baby:
When baby can sit up all by himself
- Baby usually sits well by about 7 ½ months
When baby can pick up and put food in his mouth
- Most babies begin to put things in their mouths at about the age of five months. This is their way of exploring, feeling and tasting things. By 7 ½ to 8 months babies are quite proficient at putting things in their mouths – even their big toes!
When baby has teeth with which to masticate the food
- Baby teeth begin to erupt at about six months of age, and one pair appears at about each month hereafter until all twenty are present. The incisors, which are closest to the midline, appear first, four on the upper gums and four on the lower gums. These eight teeth are usually all through by about eleven months of age. The incisors are chisel-shaped and designed to cut into food. So at this age the best foods are fruits and vegetables. Raw is best as raw food is live food and live food digests very easily as it is full of enzymes. It is vital that you begin with small tastes of one fruit at a time and that the fruit is very ripe. Another important point is to always give baby his food after his milk.
8 to 14 Months Old
Suggested fruits:
- Ripe bananas (black spots on the skin are a good sign), pear, grated apple, paw paw and avocado.
- Pieces of apple or pear can be placed in a little net bag or the cut off foot of a stocking. Then tie the end. Baby will happily suck on this for a long time and no lumps can come through the little holes. Raw is best.
These are very gentle fruits, after a few weeks other fruits can be introduced, again stressing they be very ripe. Seasonal fruits are best as they are the freshest. Organic food has a much higher nutrient value without the danger of insecticides. Dried fruits are also a good option for baby to chew on, especially a very dry prune or date. Try dried banana.
After baby has been on fruits a couple of months, some veggies can be introduced.
Suggested vegetables:
- Celery sticks and most raw veggies.
- Corn cobs with the corn taken off (baby loves this!)
- Lightly steamed pieces of carrot, broccoli, cauliflower, zucchini and cabbage. If lightly steamed, baby can pick them up and nibble on them. Baby will enjoy the different colours, tastes and textures. One baby I know loved all the ‘green foods’.
Also at this time a little mashed sweet potato or butternut pumpkin is good as they are soft and moist and need nothing added.
As the only teeth baby has at this stage are incisors, no starch should be given. Ptyalin, which is the salivary amylase that initiates the breakdown of starch, is not present in the mouth. This enzyme is not produced until the eruptions of the first molars. Baby can eat zwieback though. Zwieback twice baked bread. The bread is cut into finger sized pieces and laid in a warm oven 100 C for 1 ½ hours. This process converts all the starch in the bread to grape sugar. This is the same process that happens when a green banana becomes a ripe banana. Grape sugar is found in ripe fruit and is digested easily and quickly.
If baby has a large appetite and you feel you would like a little more than above, a little ground almond, sunflower seeds, linseed or pumpkin seeds can be added to mashed banana. Another alternative is to add 1 teaspoon slippery elm powder to a mashed banana. Slippery elm is the powdered bark of the slippery elm tree. It is very nutritious and soothing to the digestive tract.
14 Months and Onwards
It is around the age of 14 to 18 months that the digestive tract begins to mature and baby can cope with complex carbohydrates. The signpost is when the first molars appear. These have four cusps and are used to crush and grind food. The canines or eyeteeth erupt at about eighteen to twenty months. They are situated between the incisors and the first molars. The canines are used to tear and shred the food.
When the molars appear, ptyalin, the amylase in saliva, which breaks down starch, is now produced. At this stage potatoes, bread and cereals can be introduced. It is important that all grains be thoroughly cooked, and also the legumes should be soaked and well cooked. It is best at this stage to slowly introduce these foods, always leaning more to the fruits and vegetables.
By 18 to 24 months baby is usually eating three meals a day and is down to only a couple of milk feeds. If baby is weaned from the breast he can be given a fresh juice once or twice a day. Carrot, apple and celery are best. This mix contains all the necessary nutrients to sustain life. This is often called vegetarian’s milk.
Weaning off the breast depends a lot on mother, baby and circumstances. One of my babies seemed ‘desperate’ for food at nine months even though she was quite ‘round’. Another of my babies ate hardly a thing till he was sixteen months and he too was well padded. One baby weaned herself at one year whilst another weaned himself at three years.
Your baby is the best book to read; he will tell you his needs, but the mother must meet those needs with discretion and within the guidelines presented above. All the babies I have reared and known to be reared according to these principles have been happy babies and grown (and are growing) to be strong, bright healthy adults.
OTHER SUPER FOODS FOR CHILDREN
OATMEAL
The common oatmeal, is a most wonderful food, but is not properly prepared by many and terribly abused by the majority of people. It is one of the finest foods for growing children that we have, but the way the oats are eaten many times spoils the real quality of the oats.
Oatmeal can be used in many ways. When oatmeal is not spoiled in the preparation or used in wrong combinations, it is one of the finest foods we have to prevent disease.
Oatmeal can be used in many ways. When oatmeal is not spoiled in the preparation or used in wrong combinations, it is one of the finest foods we have to prevent disease.
Oatmeal water should be more frequently used than it is.. It is a very good medicine for the sick. Take the finely flaked oats and put two
heaping tablespoonfuls to a quart of water. You can make it stronger or weaker to suit your taste. Let it simmer for half an hour and then beat it up with a spoon or egg beater, and strain it through a fine sieve. This makes an excellent drink for anybody and especially the sick. If desired, you can add just a pinch of salt and a little soybean milk. Another recipe for making oatmeal water is:
Take a heaping tablespoonful of oatmeal to a quart of water and let it simmer for two or two and a half hours in a tightly covered _pan, and then strain it.
MORE ABOUT OATS
One of the richest silicon carriers known and if properly combined with fruit or vegetable eliminants, is the ideal basic food for children during the winter months to prevent infection from all zymotic diseases.”
Diet a Key to Health, by R. Swinburne Clymer, M.D..
It is not too much to say that oatmeal, if combined with other foods so as to prevent congestions and the formations of toxins and acids due to the acid reaction, would do more to prevent contagious diseases than all the serums thus far invented or that ever will be.
Oatmeal is neither artificial nor a substitute. It is a natural agent for the supply of those elements which by their antiseptic properties make contagious infections impossible.
Besides this antiseptic quality, oats are rich in the phosphorus required by the child for the formation of brain and nerve and elements required by the mind in study.
In many cases the sickness of children can be traced to errors in management. Irregularities in eating, insufficient clothing in the chilly evening, lack of vigorous exercise to keep the blood in healthy circulation, or lack of abundance of air for its purification, may be the cause of the trouble. Let the parents study to find the causes of the sickness, and then remedy the wrong conditions as soon as possible. {MH 385.2}
All parents have it in their power to learn much concerning the care and prevention, and even the treatment, of disease. Especially ought the mother to know what to do in common cases of illness in her family. She should know how to minister to her sick child. Her love and insight should fit her to perform services for it which could not so well be trusted to a stranger’s hand. {MH 385.3}
Parents should early seek to interest their children in the study of physiology and should teach them its simpler principles. Teach them how best to preserve the physical, mental, and spiritual powers, and how to use their gifts so that their lives may bring blessing to one another and honor to God. This knowledge is invaluable to the young. An education in the things that concern life and health is more important to them than a knowledge of many of the sciences taught in the schools. {MH 385.4}
Parents should live more for their children, and less for society. Study health subjects, and put your knowledge to a practical use. Teach your children to reason from cause to effect. Teach them that if they desire health and happiness, they must obey the laws of nature. Though you may not see so rapid improvement as you desire, be not discouraged, but patiently and perseveringly continue your work. {MH 386.1}
Teach your children from the cradle to practice self-denial and self-control. Teach them to enjoy the beauties of nature and in useful employments to exercise systematically all the powers of body and mind. Bring them up to have sound constitutions and good morals, to have sunny dispositions and sweet tempers. Impress upon their tender minds the truth that God does not design that we should live for present gratification merely, but for our ultimate good. Teach them that to yield to temptation is weak and wicked; to resist, noble and manly. These lessons will be as seed sown in good soil, and they will bear fruit that will make your hearts glad. {MH 386.2}
Above all things else, let parents surround their children with an atmosphere of cheerfulness, courtesy, and love. A home where love dwells, and where it is expressed in looks, in words, and in acts, is a place where angels delight to manifest their presence. {MH 386.3}
Parents, let the sunshine of love, cheerfulness, and happy contentment enter your own hearts, and let its sweet, cheering influence pervade your home. Manifest a kindly, forbearing spirit; and encourage the same in your children, cultivating all the graces that will brighten the home life. The atmosphere thus created will be to the children what air and sunshine are to the vegetable world, promoting health and vigor of mind and body. {MH 387.1}
