Evening star., 1938-08-26
The hePrOblenn
OF Feeding
Children
Mealtime Habits
Are Established
Early in Life.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

HERE is little boy, almost years
old. making his mother old before
her time by his poor eating habits.
His mother seats him, in his pajamas,
on the window seat: takes her position
before him, bowl in one hand, spoon
in the other, and says. Come, eat
your breakfast. Please. Be a good
boy. Then I'll take you OUT
Little son gazes stolidly out of the
window, his appearance suggesting
nothing so much as young saint,
apart from this world and its con-
Germs. Not by so much as a quiver
of his eyelid does he acknowledge his
mothers presence. She draws his robe
about his neck to shield him against
the draught from the closed window.
He does not move. She presses the
spoon to his lips He turns his head
away. This goes on for quarter Of
an hour. Something moves him. He
opens his mouth, without change Of
expression, and takes in the spoonful
OF food.
At last. He Is going to eat his
breakfast cereal. No, he is not. He
is holding it in his mouth. Mother
pleads. She scolds. She shakes him.
He makes no sign. Silent, seemingly
unresisting. he sits holding the food
in his mouth. For more than an hour
his mother struggles. Gives up. Takes
off his robe and pajamas and dresses
him. He is ready to walk in the
park. Eat your cereal before you
60 Be a good boy He shakes his
head, his mouth shut firmly. Out he
goes empty. and quite content
Through the day he will eat bits as
it pleases him. He gets enough to
nourish him. for he is sturdy, up-to-
standard weight. He is intelligent and
healthy. He plays well, sleeps we'll
But mealtime is his time for drama.
What is his mother to do?
1t is too bad to have to say it,
but usually, in such cases, his mother
can do very little to change things.
1t was she who set them as they are.
She let the child sleep as long as he
slept. She let him 60 to bed when he
decided 1t was time. Meals, especially
breakfast. came at his call. Mother
kept feeding him from a spoon long
after he should have been feeding
himself. She taught him that his
eating meant life and death to her,
not to him. The dramatic breakfast
hnllr iS tho ~
lack Of it.
Years will change the child's habits,
but in the meantime, mother and
child, suffer. If it is possible to take
the child away from his mother for a
while, or have his mother 20 for a
vacation. and let somebody else look
after him, some one who does not
hang on his every breath as his mother
does, he can be reconditioned to eat
ing. His mother cannot do it.
His eating habits are associated with
his mother and his home. He can
be taught new habits sooner If he is
taken to a new place, attended by an
other person, set in new environment
for a while. When his habits are
changed he can be taken home and
the routine continued. But his mother
must not give him his breakfast nor
appear while he is eating it for some
time afterward. He must be set
IN the new way before she returns
to the scene.
Children copy the attitude Of those
who feed them. Make it a matter
OF course; so will they. Make it ones
personal anxiety and the children will
let 1t be just that.
Mr.. Patri has prepared \ leaffet
entitled Crying Children" in
which he tells parents how to cope
with the crying habit In children.
Send for it. Address your request
to Mr.. Angelo Patri, Child Psy-
chology Department Of this paper.
lnclose = self-addressed, stamped
.(3-cent) envelope.
(Copyright, 193s)