Freud_Burlingham_1943_War_and_Children_k_text

and I were under the table and my poor littlesister was in bed all by herself covered withstones, and my pussy-cat was thrown away."Bertram, three years nine months old, was inthe nursery several weeks before he could recountin words the event which had been a terribleshock for him: "My father had 'takenaway my mother in a big car.' "The children who lost their fathers in airraids never mentioned anything of their experiencefor many months. Their mothers wereconvinced that they had forgotten all about it.Then after a year, two of them at least toldthe complete story with no details left out.In allthese instances speech does not serve asan outlet for the emotion which is attachedto the happening. It is rather the other wayround. The child begins to talk about theincident when the feelings which were arousedby it have been dealt with in some othermanner.-Outlet in PlayWhen adults go over their experiences inconscious thought and speech,children do thesame in their play.War games play a part in our nurseryas they do in others. Houses which are builtare not simply thrown over as in formertimes, they are bombed from above, bricks67