Erik Moeller a écrit:
I think we've had this discussion before. I disagree. Aversion to feces is fairly universal as not having it makes a culture prone to disease; it may even be biological (the structure and smell of feces changes over age, so the taboo may not yet be triggered in small children).
If I dare... Kids feces smell just the same as adult feces, as soon as they eat the same food as their parents; And in particular meat. As long as they are on a 100% dairy diet, the feces are really smelling okay, which is possibly a natural adaptation, as mothers really have to get in the business of cleaning everything quite often. It also produces rather liquid feces, which is best, since infants do not move much (so there is fewer movements to make things get down the intestine).
The smells stays all right when you introduce veggies and fruits; especially since most kids prefer mild favored ones.
Now, as soon as the kid eat meat, things get less funny. In western society, quantities get really serious between 1 and 2, and from then on, feces are quite similar to adult ones. I suspect that is a very serious reason why mothers start potty training at a quite early age, often sooner than reasonable.
What I mean to say, is that kids are interested in their feces till a much older age (3-4), than the moment the feces really start to smell. While adults are frowning, kids are not yet. I have the personal feeling, that the taboo is not spontaneous at all, but the result of education. It is not a spontaneous taboo, triggered during natural developement of the child, or if a natural taboo is triggered, I guess the trigger time comes *after* an educational trigger.