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To Child Guidance workers abnormal bodily reactions or unacceptable
behaviour are symptoms pointing to a general disturbance, in
the same way as, to a physician, a cough is not important in itself,
but as a sign pointing to derangement of the lungs and respiratory
system. The basis principle is that a child does not present
abnormal symptoms unless he is unhappy and that a child is not
unhappy unless his environment makes him unhappy. It must be
acknowledged that, mentally, some children are more robust than
others, that some succumb to slight strain and others remain
comparatively unscathed in almost intolerable conditions. Nevertheless,
trivial or serious, moderate or severe, every case of " maladjustment
" in a child implies maladjustment in some person
or persons in close contact with him ; more often than not, in his
whole family. Therefore, the problem, presented to us in terms
of a symptom " in one child converts itself into the problems of
the maladjusted family. To rid one child of one symptom presents
the task of readjusting the relationships of the whole group.
A Typical Case.
Bertie J., aged 7i, was seen at one of our clinics at the request
of his mother, whose complaint was that he was abnormally shy
and at the same time intolerably rude to people, e.g., if he were
given a present and told he must thank the donor, however pleased
he might be, he would refuse to go into the street for days, in
case he met her and were faced with the embarrassment of having
to express gratitude. Another instance was of a neighbour asking
if he were better after an illness, and Bertie replying " Get out of
my way, you silly old chump/' He also had many fears, was unable
to mix with other children except to kick or punch them. When
first seen he was found to be an unusually intelligent child but was
large for his age and very clumsy. He had an odd, strained,
unchildlike look. He was not hostile, but cold and withdrawn,
and it was not possible to make any contact with him. The family
seemed reasonably happy and united. The material conditions
were satisfactory and there were no financial anxieties. The
family consisted of Father, Mother, Bertie and Alice, aged 4i,
who had been, the Mother said, adopted 4 years before "to be a
companion to Bertie." The home was, however, shared with
Bertie's maternal Grandfather and Aunt. The Aunt, in the
Mother's opinion, had always been a domineering and possessive
woman, who had taken on the mothering of Bertie, much to her
sister's resentment. Moreover, she had spoilt him and indulged
him and encouraged him to "show off," and had lost no opportunity
of undermining Mrs. J.'s authority. The Grandfather also had
"made a great fuss of him," and lavished tp\s and presents on the
child. There had been open conflict between Father and Grandfather
on the one hand, Mother and Aunt on the other. The parents
had felt it necessary to counteract the unwise indulgence of the
others and had erred on the side of over-strictness.