Freud_Burlingham_1943_War_and_Children_k_text

ditions was too short to make up for all themisery of adaptation.Hetty andChristineThe two next examples are meant to showtwo children under the influence of an identicalsituation where the handling was completelydifferenteach time.Hetty, two years one month old, and Christine,seventeen months old, were both broughtto stay while their mothers went to the hospitalto be delivered of another baby.In Hetty's case this was done with foresightand intelligent planning from the mother'sside. She brought her as a day child morethan two months before the expected birththe new baby. She helped the child througha period of adaptation to daily life shared withother children which was by no means easy.Hetty was shy, at times aggressive, withdrawnand often unresponsive. She slowly accustomedherself to the nursery. A week before the expectedconfinement she entered the house asa boarder, slept in the shelter with the otherchildren whom she already knew well but wasrewarded in day time by frequent visits fromher mother. When her mother at last disappearedinto the maternity hospital, Hetty wasused to her new surroundings, felt at home andshowed no ill effects of any kind.112of