The Toddler in the Home
- Author:
Mary Chadwick,
S.R.N. George Allen & Unwm, Ltd. 2s. 6d.
In the introductory chapter the author tells us that there is a dearth of literature concerning the Problems of the child who is no longer a baby but has not yet started school. There is actually no lack of information in the American publica- tions and one seems to remember books on the nursery years which had described very well the difficulties which the mother will meet in handling the child who is a toddler.
It is surely an indication of an increased interest in this age that the nursery school move- ment was, until the war, steadily advancing, and that so many maternity and child welfare centres held sessions and play groups for the toddlers.
What Miss Chadwick points out, however, is Quite true that here we are dealing with an Interim period, where dawning individuality and increased activity tend to produce a more difficult and a more rebellious child. The baby can usually be trained by a steady routine, and the older child can be reasoned with and treated to some extent as an equal. This book deals with certain major situations in the young child’s life, ‘aying stress first of all on the importance of the Mother’s handling. She must deal firmly with his difficulties but not expect too much, and a 8ood point is made in criticizing any ” undecided treatment The author wisely cautions the niother against wanting to do too much for the child, interfering too much with his natural daily rhythm of behaviour so that unconsciously she ,s training him to want a mother’s interest and attention, until she herself becomes tied by his demands. Such a situation is particularly likely to lead to bitter jealousy in the older child when a new baby arrives, and a chapter is devoted to the relationship of the child to his parents, particularly in connection with jealousy, and another to the problem of a rivalry with a new brother or sister. Points are made showing that much can be done to help the older child in doing things for the baby, and a word of caution is uttered against the impatient adult who will not give the toddler time to fulfil his small tasks of helping in the house.
The book then goes on to common-sense advice about clothing, diet, and the training in habits of sleep, elimination, and the difficulties which may arise in connection with such ” bad ” habits as masturbation, finger sucking, nail biting, and so on. It is pointed out that too great attention paid to these bad habits may increase the child’s capacity to use them as a weapon against the parents. In considering his general development through to school age, advice is given on much that is of value, together with some indication of the toys and games likely to be most popular with a toddler.
The book as a whole, however, is disappoint- ing. It fails to give a fresh or illuminating explanation of the emotional difficulties of the young child, and the impression gained is rather that the author has ” toned down ” her views to make them acceptable to the general public. Actually the public is now in many ways well informed about these difficulties, and there is little in the book which would not be known to and practised by any young mother with reason- able understanding and good common sense.
Those who have not these invaluable qualifica- tions for motherhood are unlikely to read it, nor are its evident truths sufficiently succinctly put to convince them of the errors of their ways, if by any chance they should come across it. E.M.C.
Disclaimer
The historical material in this project falls into one of three categories for clearances and permissions:
Material currently under copyright, made available with a Creative Commons license chosen by the publisher.
Material that is in the public domain
Material identified by the Welcome Trust as an Orphan Work, made available with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
While we are in the process of adding metadata to the articles, please check the article at its original source for specific copyrights.