Freud_Burlingham_1943_War_and_Children_k_text

the violent attachment to the mother substitutesof their own choice was anything but peacefulfor the children. They clung to them full ofpossessiveness and anxiety when they were present,anxiously watched every one of their movementstowards the door of the nursery andwould burst into tears whenever they were leftby them for a few minutes.Jealousy developed alongside with themother-attachment. There were two types ofjealousy to be seen; one directed against thechildren of the same family group who actuallyshared the attention of themother substitute;or when the children succeeded in acceptingthese brothers and sisters who were forcedon them, they directed the full impact of theirjealousy against the children outside their familygroup and would not allow their worker tohave any dealings with them. For a while wereally thought that our grand innovation hadbeen a great mistake. The formerly peacefulnursery reverberated with the weeping of childrenwhose "mother" had left the room, forinstance toget something from the next room,and whose absence was mourned as if shewould never return. Fights among the childrenmultiplied in frequency and intensity.Luckily, this state of affairs did not last longerthan two to three weeks. With the realisationthat their new mother substitute really belonged159