THE THORNY CHILD

Too many physicians—and parents—hide behind the overworked excuse that “Johnny is just going through a stage.” If the remark is inaccurate a great disservice can be done to both mother and child, and ultimately to society. The well oriented physician would no more permit a young mother to unwittingly feel “guilty” because her two-year-old “little stinker” behaves like a two-year-old little stinker than he would casually reassure when a ten-year-old behaves as though he were two.Actually much of the unpleasant behavior of children is quite normal. If physicians would help all young mothers to recognize this without dismissing abnormal behavior, it would do much to avert the overwhelming sense of inadequacy that so many modern young mothers feel—especially with their first baby. If they can be made comfortable with their first the others usually come easily. Many physicians who care for children are not trained in the rudiments of developmental behavior. By means of a simple outline and drawing of “the thorny child” even the least of the experts can better understand some of the chronologic variations in developmental behavior.