The Problem Family
- Author:
Neill. Herbert
Jenkins, is. bd.
Mr. Neill’s latest book, The Problem Family, is no less vital than his earlier works. Once again he tells us that there are no problem children? only problem parents. Mr. Neill is sincere and alive; he knows what he believes and is not afraid to say so. There is so much that is good in what he says, that it seems a pity he should spoil so much of his work by expressing half-truths in a somewhat dogmatic fashion. Few would disagree with his statement that ” ignorance of child nature is appallingly universal ” and that rigid upbringing of children is detrimental to their mental health, but when he says that ” guilt can be eliminated, for it is due to conscience and that is imposed from without “, he raises doubts about the validity of the statement, and one is also tempted to ask whether the removal of conscience would really make society a happier place to live in. Surely even Mr. Neill would not want a world ruled by the pleasure principle alone?but perhaps he would.
The author has spent much of his life in defending the rights of children and in identifying himself with them. Now he is a parent, but so far he shows no sign of having identified himself with the fathers. To him the adults are all wrong. The adult world is ” insane ” and the child ” must from the start be forced to fit itself ” in. Mr. Neill has been a father for one year. It would be interesting to hear from him in four or five years’ time. C.H-S.
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