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| Bad Habits in children |
Thumb Sucking : Sucking the thumb, fingers or fist in young babies is frequently a sign of hunger. Older children, however, sometimes acquire the habit, especially at the age of teething. The habit is an injurious one because if practiced for any length of time, it causes deformities of the upper jaw and mouth breathing. Many adults who are made conspicuous by prominent front teeth can trace the trouble to thumb sucking in infancy.
The habit may be corrected by repeatedly removing the fingers from the mouth when the child sucks them, until finally the idea of what is wanted becomes fixed in the child’s mind. It is often wise to sew across the sleeve of the night garment below the hand, or the hollow aluminum balls which are made to go over the hands may be used.* In extreme cases it may be necessary to bandage pasteboard splints over the inner surface of the child’s elbows so that it cannot bend the arms.
Similar to this habit are the habits of sucking a rubber nipple known as a pacifier, biting or sucking on blankets or articles of clothing or toys.
Biting of the finger nails is frequently seen in older children, and is a more difficult habit to break, as it is usually dependent upon some nervous or digestive derangement. Weak, underfed children often bite their nails, and it is frequently an early symptom of St. Vitus’ dance (chorea). The child’s health must be built up, and the nervous disease, if there is any, must receive proper attention.
It is not wise to punish children for these habits but they should be corrected by the exercise of tact and patience.
Bed Wetting : It is abnormal for a child to wet the bed at night after the age of two and a half or three years. In rare cases this may be due to indifference on the part of the child, and in such cases mild means of punishment may be effective. In a large majority of cases, however, bed wetting is due to some physical cause and the child is not to be blamed for it. Such children should receive careful physical examination, and if this symptom is due to reflex irritation, the affected parts should be treated. In addition to this, it is best not to give the child any liquids to drink after 4 P.M. The supper should be dry and the child should be taken up about 9 or 10 o’clock in the evening. The foot of the bed may be elevated a few inches by the use of blocks or bricks. Temporary attacks of bed wetting are often caused by an irritation of the bladder due to some abnormal condition of the urine. In such cases the urine should be examined. Carefully selected homoeopathic remedies usually give relief.
Thigh Rubbing : This condition, which is sometimes referred to as masturbation, is one of the most difficult to prevent. It occurs most frequently in girl babies, and if allowed to go on may result in serious harm. It is often due to some irritation of the external genitals, and great care must be used to prevent irritation of the parts from the urine or from chafing. In other cases, it is necessary to circumcise the infant or take other measures for removing the reflex irritation, which causes the habit. In older children moral suasion or even mild punishment may be necessary, and in extreme cases mechanical devices for separating the thighs are useful.
The condition is a most important one and in a large majority of cases mothers will need the help of the family physician in curing the habit.