Freud_Burlingham_1943_War_and_Children_k_text

cause of the inner situation described, forgetabout their parents or at least become apparentlyindifferent towards them. They shifttheir affections to the new surroundings and,after some hesitation and some loss of valuabledevelopment to be described later, will restartnormal life on a new basis.After three years of age children will notnormally forget their parents. Their memoriesare more stable, a change of attitude takes theplace of complete repression. It is alreadyeasier for the children to find active and consciousexpression for their feelings. The imageof the parents remains intheir mind, especiallywhen helped from the outside by frequentvisits, receipt of parcels, and constant talkabout the parents. Frequently, these parentalimages undergo greatchanges compared withthe real parent in the child's past. In phantasylife the absent parents seem better, bigger,richer,more generous and more tolerant thanthey have ever been. It isthe negative feelings,as shown above, which undergo repression andcreate all sorts of moods and problems of behaviour,the origin of which remains unknownto the child and teacher alike.But even at thisage where relationship withthe parents persists in phantasy, the real affectionsof the children slowly leave the parents.Again, the child of this age lives mainly in61