The 'good enough' mother
Psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott helped shape childcare in Britain through ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ radio broadcasts in the 1940s and 50s. He suggested mothers follow their instincts and ignore rules.
Psychoanalyst and paediatrician Donald Winnicott helped shape childcare in Britain through a series of ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ radio broadcasts in the 1940s and 50s. He suggested mothers did best when they followed their instincts, got to know their babies and ignored prescribed rules. He became most famous for developing the idea of what he called βthe good-enough motherβ. He also introduced the term 'transitional object' to describe the favourite teddy that babies cling to, He suggested it represented an important phase of development, helping babies develop a sense of self, separate from their mothers. Claire Bowes has been speaking to retired psychoanalyst Jennifer Johns, who knew Donald Winnicott.
PHOTO: A mother with her baby in the 1960s. Credit: ΒιΆΉΤΌΕΔ.
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