Product Description

Controversial yet powerfully influential to this day, this classic collection of Bowlby's lectures offers important guidelines for child rearing based on the crucial role of early relationships.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7453 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
'One of the most influential forces in child psychiatry and psychology, Dr. Bowlby challenged basic tenets of psychoanalysis and pioneered methods of investigating the emotional life of children.' - The New York Times

From the Back Cover

'One of the most influential forces in child psychiatry and psychology, Dr. Bowlby challenged basic tenets of psychoanalysis and pioneered methods of investigating the emotional life of children.' - The New York Times

As Bowlby himself points out in his introduction to this seminal childcare book, to be a successful parent means a lot of very hard work. Giving time and attention to children means sacrificing other interests and activities. For many people today these are unwelcome truths. Yet a healthy parent-child bond is not only vital for well-being, but an essential part of what it means to be human. Attachment theory teaches that there are three main attachment patterns - secure, avoidant or ambivalent, and these behaviours continue into adulthood. Secure children are confident, using a parent as a 'secure base' while they explore the world. Bowlby’s work showed that the early interactions between infant and caregiver have a profound impact on an infant's social, emotional, and intellectual growth. Controversial yet powerfully influential to this day, this classic collection of Bowlby’s lectures offers important guidelines for child rearing based on the crucial role of early relationships.

John Bowlby (1907 - 1990) World famous psychiatrist and father of attachment theory, he identified early abuse and neglect as key factors in adult psychological problems.

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Customer Reviews

Wonderfully readable, enjoyable and educational
I am studying for my diploma in psychodynamic counselling and have found this book refreshingly easy to read. Its content is useful both in terms of theoretical essay writing and in adding to understanding of clinical practice. It is a collection of talks that Bowlby gave and as such does not detail Bowlby's attachment thoery, but makes reference to it.

Importance of a secure childhood
A collection of lectures/essays which describes Bowlby's classic work in attachment theory. Most importantly provision of a 'secure base' for children so that they can go explore away and further from it and not be afraid of abandonment. If such a base is not provided, later life may become a struggle to find such a base with the fear of abandonment in the back of the mind. Weakening all initiative and preventing trust.

A simple message
John Bowlby is the father of attachment theory, and is most famous for his observational work with children in care during WWII. 'A Secure Base' is a great place to begin if you are interested in his work, as it is concise and a much shorter read than his 'Attachment Theory' in three volumes.
This book appeals for a change in attitude and understanding of basic human need for affection and rejects the unsolicited use of neglect - once disguised as an acceptable way of parenting. It calls into question the theories of 'controlled crying' and other punitive methods, which, to this day are still commonly practised throughout the western world. Through Bowlby's observations, we can begin to join the dots and build a picture of why today's news headlines portray such a bleak outlook on our future. The introduction to this book is so simply put but conveys an important message; parenthood has all but lost its value in the developed world and yet it is the most important and demanding job for the survival of our society. This book should be read by children at school as well as their parents, politicians and CEOs alike.