Salt Lake Telegram | 1935-05-21 | Page 6 | Daily Health Service

Daily Health S Service By DR 1 Not long ago a mother about 34 31 years old brought her old 4 son Jon sonto to a doctor because the boy had become become become be be- come unmanageable She complained that he was overactive that he had temper tantrums and would not play with other children She could not make him go co to bed d dearly early at night He was WM a f cry baby and would not protect himself from other children Moreover he was finicky about his hit food and it was exceedingly difficult to make him eat Worst of ot all all although although al al- al- al though he failed ailed to protect himself a against other children he would attack at at- tack adults Finally Finall this child chUd came to the at at- fention of a specialist in the study of the m mental side of 01 the childs child's life We and he discovered some some exceedingly interesting inter inter- esting thin things s about the mental rela rela- relationships of 01 the child chUd to its il parents It happened that this old 4 boy was really of superior intelligence and actually somewhat above his years In his body development The mother had not wanted the child chUd but had consented to have him because the husband had wanted it ft Her reactions to the child were always the same as though he were werl a grownup grown grownup up person The child naturally exhibited a healthy rebellion against this point of view which took the form of oC f the difficult reactions that I have men men- tion The most troublesome type of or disorder dis order to control jn in the ordinary child Is a food Lood fad or food habit resulting eventually in Its refusal to eat Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times children will not eat because they have found out that certain foods disagree with them so EO that a certain amount of respect for childrens childrens children's chil chil- drens dren's taste within the limits o of good health will make much less difficulty for tor their parents in regard to food However children are great Imitators tors ors and if it some grownup member of the family has frequently expressed ex cx pressed dislike for some foods or exhibited ex cx strange fads in that regard it If will not be at all 8 3 surprising If the child suddenly shows show Up tip with a similar simi lar notion Most of the feeding problems arise in early Infancy par Parents begin to worry about the baby's baby height and weight They try to force the child to cat Immediately there begins a psychological psychological psychological psycho psycho- logical battle between the parents and the he child which gradually extends itself from the question of eating to other questions When the child once begins to assert assert as sert Itself in opposition to the parents' parents pressure and wishes s all the problems ms are accentuated A careful anal analysis sis of this situation will reveal the fact that the first step necessary ary for the parent to understand under stand the child is for the parent to analyze hi his or her own relationships to the child