One might expect that such basic needs as eating, sleeping, and .timination get off to a goed start in development. Unfortunately, many children develop feeding probl::ms, and some develop undesirable sleeping and toilet habits. Both good and bad habits begin early. Where do they come from? Bad habits are acquired in the same way as gooq habits, for both come through learning.
Eating
One of the strongest of all drives is that of obtaining nourishment, but this in itself does not assure good habits of eating. Resorting to 'pressure methods of feeding may bring on difficulties. Most children, like some adults, have times when they eat little simply because they do not feel like eating. Studies have shown that parents' food dislikes are often reflected in the behavior of the child. One investigator found that among children who presented feeding problems, 47 percent of the foods disliked or refused by a member of the family were alsc disliked by the child. Many foods are not liked by the young child on first trial-he must learn to like them. This learning may be enhanced by giving new foods early in the meal when the child is hungry and giving them in small quantities at first. Give the haby only one new food at a time. If the mother takes a "This is good and you're going to like it" attitude, the child is more likely to think the food really is tasty.
One of the most difficult things for parents to recognize is that mealtime should not be the time when unpleasant subjects are discussed. Even too much conversation can distract the child and cause him to play with his food. But of all the "don'ts" the most important one centers on not getting the child emotionally upset at mealtime. Both appetite and digestion can be disturbed by an emotional climate.
Change in Eating Habits
One of the most noticeable changes in eating habits occurs around one year of age. During the first several months of life the infant seems always to be hungry at mealtime. About the time the child begins walking, food becomes less important and he becomes more choosy about what and how much he eats. Allow the child some choice in what he or she eats during the second year, because this seems to be the time in his life when he is beginning to have some say-so for himself. Expect changes in taste from month to month.
On the average the baby can sit up well without slumping sometime after six months of age. This is a good time to start feeding in the high chair. Not until the child is around a year to fifteen months old can he or she begin using a spoon. Using the fork comes somewhere around two to three years of age. As the child progresses from spoon to fork, table manners wilfimprove. But even the child best trained in table manners will revert occasionally to some cruder form of eating.
Sleeping
In many respects we can think of sleep as a habit. The child used to a quiet environment may have sleep disturbed by noise. But in most homes a noiseless environment is almost impossible. As long as the child feels safe, he or she can soon learn to sleep well under any normal conditions. Taking the youngster on trips where one must sleep in a new bed each night, under different noise conditions, may be good experience.
The amount 0f sleep needed by children varies from individual to individual. But on the average the newborn infant sleeps about three-fourths of the time. By one year of age the average child is sleeping a little over half the time. Gradually the amojJnt of sleep needed decreases. The average five-year-old sleeps about eleven hours. By eight years of age the child will sleep'ten hours or less.
Crying out, grinding teeth, and even walking in one's sleep are not usually regarded as abnormal. These types of behavior generally occur when the child is overtired, overexcited, or puzzled about some problem. Some suggestions for developing good sleep habits are:
- Maintain some regularity at bedtime.
- Avoid inducing sleep by rocking or walking. Avqid excitement before bedtime.
- Let the child take some harmless toys to bed with him. Let the child sleep alone in bed, if possible.
- Don't be taken in by his or her many and varied tricks.
Toilet Training
Toilet training should be delayed until the child has matured to the point at which he or she if> beginning to have some ability to restrain bowel movements and urination. Many writers say that ten months is early enough to start bowel training; bladder training may be started around fifteen to eighteen months. Training readiness is indicated when bowel movements begin to occur at about the same time each day and when the baby begins to strain. Children are ready for bladder training when they begin paying attention to the puddle made on the floor or listening to urination while waiting for a bowel movement on the toilet.
Encouragement in learning to use the toilet comes about in two ways: First, the apparent satisfaction that goes along with not messing up the diaper serves as an indirect influence in training; second, the feeling of accomplishment that goes along with the learning serves as reinforcement. But expect accidents in toilet habits as a IT'J.tter of course-children often misjudge the time-distance relation back to the house!
