what milk contains. For this reason children are given special foods or preparations containing vitamins, from the end of the second week of their life, and they continue in this through the first two years at least. It is common to give children cod-liver oil and other oils from the livers of fish, in the quantity the doctor determines; these oils are rich in vitamins.
Likewise the mother should feed her child the juice of oranges, lemons, and tomatoes. It is well that lemon juice be sweetened a little with sugar before the child drinks it. As for tomatoes, they are put into boiling water and their skin removed before they are squeezed. Fruit juice may be added to the child's diet once he has passed two weeks of age, though some doctors prefer that the child not be given fruit juice until after the end of his first month. If the child is fed fruit juice, he begins by taking a teaspoonful of it daily; then this is increased gradually until the child takes, in the third month, the measure of two tablespoons (two soup spoons) twice in a single day.
When the child reaches about four months of age, the doctor usually advises for him the first great change in his food: besides milk, fish-liver oil, and fruit juice, he is given solid food specially prepared (such as cereals, mashed vegetables, and mashed egg yolk), in limited proportions that help his nourishment and his growth.
Most doctors advise cooking semolina, or flour, or boiled rice, or burghul, for these contain a quantity of carbohydrates and minerals.
Vegetables are a valuable food for the child, for they contain certain minerals and vitamins necessary for the growth of his body; they also help prevent constipation.
The first vegetables given to the child are mashed peas, carrots, green beans, and lettuce. All these vegetables are boiled, for it is not wise to give the child coarse, unboiled food. Even after washing, these vegetables may carry germs that cause the disease of dysentery. Vegetables are usually given before the two o'clock afternoon feeding, and at this meal it is enough for the child to nurse at his mother's breast for a short while, if he is still in the nursing stage. His feeding on vegetables begins gradually, like every new food: he is given the measure of a teaspoon of vegetables a day, and a little is added to it from time to time until the child is getting three tablespoons daily when he reaches eight months of age.
When the child's age reaches six or seven months, the pulp of boiled fruit is added to his food. The best fruits are prunes (soaked, then boiled without sugar), and dried apples, plums, and apricots with a small measure of sugar. After these fruits are boiled they are strained or mashed and the coarse residue removed from them; the child is given only the soft pulp of the fruit. He is also given raw fruit, such as peeled, mashed banana and peeled, mashed apple as well.
When the child reaches four months of age, the doctor advises giving him egg yolk, for it contains a measure of iron, fat, and protein. He is given less than a teaspoonful; then this quantity is increased gradually to the limit the doctor prescribes. Egg yolk may be offered to the child raw, or boiled in water, or cooked firm and