The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-04-16

ing what makes them that way,
"don'ting" them at every turn.
This goes on until the child grows
furtive, slips away because he has
to in order to have any peace. He
is accused of sneaking, when 1t Is
the only way out.
What's the Difference?
A certain small girl in my prac-
tice got round Scolding this sun
day morning because she took her
mothers lipStick and painted her
fingernails a gorgeous red. cher
mother uses a blood red varnish,
so what's the differenceN In the
mothers opinion, the child had
been "noSing" in things that did
not belong to her.
Maybe you think these things
belong in another column, and are
of no consequence TO the doctor
outside of his own family. We must
admit that more Of these nervous
children find themselves in our
clinics than we like to see. The
chief problem Is that 1t is impos-
sible to help the situation without
being able to remove the cause,
which is sometimes also impossible.
II one is to Judge from the be-
havior Of parents in public, one
would think that nine out OF ten
parents have forgotten their own
childhood. All that period, when
their own incentives were all
mixed up with feelings and nerves,
was merely the time when / was
a kid" Now they say there's no
sense in it and I won't have it,"
There is probably no human all
ment more depicting and disabling,
and yet comfortable, than this
conditi on Of being nervous"
When analysed, the condition re-
solves itself into state when we
want to Go one thing and have to
do something else. We know We
are we'll enough to be doing things,
and yet we feel too unstrung and
rotten" to accomplish anything.
We say that everything is cross
ways" meaning that We are Jerky
and undone.
Let's BE Considerable
The psychologist would explain
that our forward impulses were
being sabotaged by other impulses
that interfere with what we want
to accomplish. In fact, we are so
nervous!"
Now, It is strange that we can
bot understand the conditions OF
childhood, when all the processes
of living are trying TO progress
normally, and at the same time
they are complicated by the con-
slant changes OF growth. These
demands in themselves ought to
make us considerate and patient.
Yet we are the more insistent that
the child should have sense to do
as we think he should.
Mothers are constantly coming
to the doctors Office TO relate that
q child sleeps restlessly, cries out
in his sleep. rolls and Whimpers
Usually they say they cannot
find thing the matter with him"
II there is really no physical all
ment, a study of the case will often
bring out that the child has spent
all his waking day trying to work
out his normal notions, but being
met constantly by n barrage OF
seedlings and restrictions because
he wanders away, or gets dirty, OF
makes too much noise. or for a
score Of other reasons. His reac-
tons come TO the surface during
the sleep period when the control
system has been relaxed, and the
excitement Of the playtime ha,
disappeared.
Some very interesting surveys
have been made TO measure just
how much energy q child expend'
even when he is supposed to be
asleep. We ought TO study some
such findings when we make Sucf
effort to have a child keep quiet. ;
To measure the effect on the ner-
vous equilibrium by sitting suCf
activity would be another project
We doctors are ready to say tha'
many nervous children are made
80 by the demands OF their parent!
In the attempt to make them con-
form to the grown-up ideas Of be-
havior. Where there is actual rea'
son for certain types OF nervous
ness. the cause can usually b.
found.