A Practical Application of Some Lessons of the Self-Selection of Diet Study to the Feeding of Children in Hospitals

In April, 1931, a new way of serving meals to children in hospitals was instituted in the orthopedic ward of the Children's Memorial Hospital of Chicago. From the first day it pleased both children and nursing staff; it quickly won the cordial support of the dietitian and her staff, and, after a year's experience with the method in this ward, meals are now similarly served in the cardiac ward and in the ward for convalescents. The advantages of the new serving method have been evident in: The opportunity it affords of serving a more varied diet and allowing for individual choice in foods without increase of cost. Better appetites and more enjoyment of food by the children. Lessened nursing time and labor spent in serving meals. (4) Lessened waste of food. The orthopedic ward is a thirty-one bed unit composed of three main rooms, with small rooms