Product Description

Few experts have done more to present the world of children and parents to the general public than D.W. Winnicott. In this classic of child development, Winnicott explores problems of the only child, of stealing and lying, shyness, sex education in schools and the roots of aggression. 'His style is lucid, his manner friendly, and his years of experience provide much wise insight into child behaviour and parental attitudes' - British Journal of Psychology

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #20992 in Books
• Published on: 2000-05-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

About the Author
D.W. Winnicott (1896-1971) was the first paediatrician in Britain to train as a psychoanalyst. In over forty years of clinical practice at the Paddington Green Children's Hospital, he brought unprecedented skill to the relatively new discipline of the psychoanalysis of children. His work is increasingly being regarded as one of the most influential contributions to psychoanalysis since Freud.

Customer Reviews

Some very deep thoughts about twins
Most of the short pieces in this book-a collection of BBC radio talks- are typical of Winnicotts comon-sense views on parents,children and education. The chapter about twins however really stands out and has more to say in five short pages than most other literature on the subject. The difference is that where others see twins more or less as freaks of nature on whom one can test ones ideas about the nature-nurture-issue, Winnicott sees them as individual persons. Where others stress the obvious fact of their similarity, Winnicott stresses that twins are two different persons right from the outset and that being a twin has its advantages, but also its drawbacks for the necessary task of developing ones own personality. he observes that while most twins get along well enough, they often did not manage to distance themselves enough to really love each other. This is a thought-provoking piece. Readers should not be deterred by the books slightly paternalistic tone wich probably went down well during the fifties but does not do so anymore.

You can hear Winnicott's voice
This book is completely timeless - a useful antidote to all those 'how to do it' baby books - which tells mums to trust their own gut instinct. Because this is based on some radio talks from the 1950s, you have to get through a slightly patronising tone to find that Winnicott is wise and direct about our earliest emotions. He even summarises 'object relations' theory in a wonderfully apt way. His own wide experiences with babies and mothers is also subtly informed by Melanie Klein's ideas about early psychological development.

A turning point in psychoanalysis
D.W. Winicott is the man who coined the phrase "the good-enough mother". And it is thanks to him that Psychoanalysis finally started to shift from a deploringly negative stance to a more optimistic and even somewhat practical approach to human psychology. Winnicott has a warmth to his prose which is unlike many of him contemporaries and it is his human quality which makes his books so easy to access. This book in particular, is addressed to mothers rather than to other practitioners in his field, again reflecting his sensitivity to the importance and value of the role of the mother. He credits mothers with their own ability and seeks to encourage rather than abash and demoralise, which was so more much the trend at the time. As a mother and practising psychotherapist, I hold this book close to my heart and encourage anyone to read it.