Toilet Training...

In chapter 8, a topic of toilet training is introduced. The topic on page 225 is “Potty Wars: When and How should Children be Toilet Trained” (Feldman, 2007. pg. 225). Toilet Training can be a challenge depending on the child. According to the text, in 1957 there were a total of 92% of children were completely potty trained around 18 months. In 1999, only a percentage of 25% of children were toilet trained, but at just 60% at 36 months. (Feldman, 2007). According to the text, The American Academy of Pediatrics suggests that children should not be ready to start training when the child is ready not the parent. I strongly feel that you should not force to go potty. Using the restroom for children is something they have control over, and parents should wait until the child is ready. Not only is this less stressful for the parent, but the child as well. This creates a sense of independence and accomplishment if the child can do it on his or her own. Toilet training depends not just solely on the child but several other factors. For example, it depends on the child’s maturity, their ability to manage their muscles, the development of the child. The parent being consistency, patience, and praise are good factors as well.

Gender Roles

Society has a major influence on gender roles for children. It is apparent that when children get older, there are often more gender differences that appear. At the age of one, infants are capable to differentiate among males and females. Girls at 1 year desire to play with baby dolls, while boys will play with trucks, blocks, and enjoy playing Spiderman or batman when role playing. Usually, parents provide children with certain toys for their child. For example, my mom would buy me Barbie dolls, and girly things. My mom would also buy my brother dump trucks, and action figures. Parents have a strong influence on their children, especially when it regards choosing a specific toy to play with. For example, my mom did not want my brother playing with dolls. My mother saw it is too feminine like. Society has a great influence as well. For example, society has influenced our ways of thinking that boys should play with toys that are “masculine,” and girls should play with toys that are “feminine.” I learned from reading chapter 7 that society has influenced our ways of gender roles. Reading this chapter influences me to go beyond to know what other factors influence gender roles for children.

Pain and Childbirth...

In Chapter four I learned that the pain of childbirth depends largely on the individual. Childbirth pain is a sign that the body as it should be. The pain during childbirth increases anxiety, and the contractions increase their feeling of pain. The decision is up to the mother whether or not to use drugs to reduce the pain. One of the options for controlling the pain is an epidural. There are several types of epidurals. There is the traditional epidural, which numbs from the waist down that inhibits the use of the legs, and in some cases it prevents the mother from pushing. The walking epidural or dual spinal epidural is smaller doses of anesthesia, and allows for the mother to move around more freely. There are also cons associated with the use of pain reducing drugs. Some side-effects that are associated with pain reducing drugs may affect the fetus, and in some cases not affecting the mother. Some of the effects could include, temporarily affected the flow of oxygen to the fetus, fetus is less psychologically responsive, and show poor motor control during the first days of life. Overall, there are no negative side effects associated with the use of drugs during labor as long as they are administered in minimal amounts.