Troubles of Children and Parents
- Type:
Book Reviews
- Author:
Susan Isaacs,
M.A., D.Sc. Methuen. 8s. 6d.
In this book are reprinted a representative selection of letters from parents and the replies to them, written by the late Dr Susan Isaacs, under the pseudonym of Ursula Wise, in the Nursery World during the years 1929-36.
In the preface Dr Isaacs stated: ” What I have always tried to do in my replies to these anxious enquiries, and what I hope this book will do for its readers now, is to give parents and nurses some sense of children’s normal development and at the same time a greater awareness of the reality and intensity of the child’s feelings in his various relationships?how human he is, even as an infant, and how necessary it is to be aware of this if one is to treat him reasonably.’’’’
In this the author succeeds admirably. Not least among Susan Isaacs’ gifts was a clarity of style and an ability to translate profound psychological knowledge into a form easily understood by those with no special knowledge. In this book the actual letters are reproduced, together with the replies, and this lends vividness and added force to the advice given. The actual children are evoked before us, and we are given a first-hand insight into the attitudes of parent or nurse. The replies carry authority because the writer so obviously knew and understood children, and not just the theoretical ” child and the whole book breathes the wisdom gained from experience and deep study. One can well imagine those who would normally scorn the pronouncements of psychologists eagerly assimilating and acting on the advice given here. Susan Isaacs has been careful both to avoid giving the impression in her replies that complete guidance can be given on the receipt of one letter, and to advise seeking skilled help where it seemed necessary, or likely to be so.
In the main, the letters quoted deal with the ordinary problems of the young child’s development, and the aim of the author was frequently to allay the parents’ anxiety and to show that difficulties of this kind were normal and to be expected, but she did not hesitate to speak strongly where necessary. Although classified as to main content, the letters show clearly the many-sidedness of children’s problems, and how apparently unconnected symptoms and events may link up. The problems are evergreen?fears, jealousy, tantrums, lack of self-control, destructiveness, etc.? and the author’s sympathetic and clear handling of them makes the book valuable to all who have dealings with young children.
While intended mainly for the home, teachers and students will find much that is helpful. The book deals for the most part with children from middle-class families and of average or superior intelligence, but this in no way detracts from its usefulness as a helpful and readable addition to the literature on parent guidance. M.M.
Disclaimer
The historical material in this project falls into one of three categories for clearances and permissions:
Material currently under copyright, made available with a Creative Commons license chosen by the publisher.
Material that is in the public domain
Material identified by the Welcome Trust as an Orphan Work, made available with a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
While we are in the process of adding metadata to the articles, please check the article at its original source for specific copyrights.