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3
Types of Symptoms.
1. The symptoms complained of in these age-groups are practically all
associated with assertive tendencies and their results. Screaming
fits, feeding difficulties and disturbances of sleep predominate as
symptoms.
2. Anxiety symptoms after severe illness or operations.
Environmental Factors.
I. Marked anxiety in mother.
II. Lack of understanding of what is natural behaviour in young children.
III. Commonly associated history of marital unhappiness.
IV. Grandparents.
V. Pre-marital conception.
Value of the Work.
(a) Enables one to instruct mother in what is to be expected at various
stages in a child's natural development.
(b) To suggest methods of dealing with objective situations accentuating
the child's difficulties, such as marital or family problems. A change
of environmental conditions may completely alter child's behaviour.
(c) Dealing with mother's own emotional problems, anxiety, guilt, etc.
Most mothers respond well to suggestions and advice, but we have
to accept the fact that there are always a certain proportion of
parents who are quite incapable of being helped, and others in
whom the emotional conditions are too severe to be dealt with by
advice alone.
(d) With very young children difficulties and problems have not become
fixated, and simple forms of play therapy can release tension and
anxiety.
(e) This play therapy in the presence of the mother has a great educative
value, and increases her understanding of childhood behaviour.
Prevention of Neurosis and Production of Mental Health.
The greatest value of this work lies in its preventive aspect. We tackle
problems easily, eradicate the child's emotional difficulties, and help its more
positive attitude to life and living. If at this early stage we can help the parents
in the development of right attitude towards children, and help to make the
parents conscious of the effects of their own emotional difficulties both on their
children and themselves, we can do much more to produce mental health in the
growing child than any amount of child guidance work at later periods when
emotional attitudes have become more complicated and fixated. The work
with young children and their parents more than repays all the money and
energy expended on it.
As a typical instance of a difficulty in a child exaggerated by parental
difficulties, I take the case of a 2½ year old boy with very marked obsessional
tendencies, who was eating badly, sleeping badly, and failing to gain weight.
He looked miserable and terrified. At the end of a month, and as the result of
four visits, he was eating well, sleeping peacefully, and had already begun to
gain weight. All his obsessional traits had disappeared. The symptoms were
the result of too repressive treatment, especially by the father who had a very
quick temper and completely lacked understanding of small children. The case
was dealt with by helping the mother to understand that the child's desire to
do things was perfectly natural, and also by talking over her own emotional
problems which were very marked. Unfortunately, the father could not be
seen, but the mother was able to gain his co-operation. The child was helped
through play with material suitable for his age to be less afraid of his own
assertive urges, and by these means, his environment becoming much more
suitable, he was able to develop more happily."