Infant problems
No two babies, unless they are identical twins, are alike. Some have snub and some have turned-up noses. Some have dark hair, some fair, some red, and some almost no hair at all ! They differ according to physique— there are fat, sturdy, thin, angular, and weakly babies. They differ according to intelligence—some seem alert and active from the beginning, some are vaguely interested in what is going on around them, while others take little or no interest in anything save food and sleep. And also they differ in temperament —there are the muling, puking kind of babies, the placid and imperturbable ones, and the excitable and over-active ones. In some measure these temperamental differences are due to physique and in some measure to constitutional factors of a rather indeterminate character. We can detect the aggressive and the submissive types almost from the start. Environment will have a marked influence on heredity from the beginning, and can certainly modify, suppress or encourage such characteristics as pugnacity, excitability and the like to a considerable extent. The baby's first experiences and his environment during the first two years especially are extremely important. Difficulties are bound to occur now and again, and the parent needs to remember that the child in the first year has an active mental life and needs sympathetic and tactful handling.

Feeding difficulties

These are perhaps the most common difficulties during infancy but may persist well through childhood and even into adulthood, although their character will vary. It is not relevant to discuss the more obvious physical causes of these difficulties here, but we shall discuss something about the psychological aspect, and indicate the influence of psychological factors on digestive processes. Fear has a marked effect on the functioning of the stomach, the gastric juices, the bladder and the bowels. There is no doubt that in many cases flatulence, acidosis, constipation, vomiting and diarrhoea are best understood and cured if treated as anxiety symptoms.
The importance to the infant of breast-feeding has already been pointed out. For satisfactory breast-feeding regularity and undisturbed feeding periods are essential ; four-hourly or three-hourly intervals may be best for the baby and the actual feeding period should be undisturbed. This is especially important at the beginning.
There is considerable evidence now that the very young child builds strange phantasies about his food—in his mind it is either very beneficial or very harmful, like nectar or like poison. Directly an aura of emotional disturbance surrounds the feeding process, directly he is cajoled or forced to eat, his phantasies become more intense and he feels more anxious than before. It is well known that little children eat better when together with other children in the Nursery School, or when a placid nurse helps them in the nursery, than when with anxious or adoring parents who watch every mouthful. Children very soon learn that their refusal to eat can be a potent weapon to ensure their mother's anxious solicitude.

More on infant's development