Childhood and Society
Then there’s developmental psychology, which maintains that our basic nature is dependent on the kind of parenting we received. If you were fortunate to have “good enough” parenting during certain critical periods in your early development, you emerged from childhood with a certain amount of “ego strength.” If you didn’t, you were out of luck. You
... See moreRichard C. Schwartz • Introduction to Internal Family Systems
Parents as representatives of the culture have the responsibility to inspire their children with the values of the culture. They make demands upon a child in terms of attitudes and behavior that are designed to fit the child into the social and cultural matrix. On one hand the child resists these demands because they amount to a domestication of hi
... See moreDr. Alexander Lowen M.D. • Fear of Life: The Wisdom of Failure
The boy in this scenario thinks that he’s being big and strong and important (because that’s what Mom tells him), but in fact, his childhood is being stolen from him. While he is busy trying to be Mom’s emotional husband, he’s not able to be a child and work through the developmental tasks he faces. He is not able to integrate his new-found power i
... See moreSteven Kessler • The 5 Personality Patterns: Your Guide to Understanding Yourself and Others and Developing Emotional Maturity
“ We build our own prisons and serve as our own jailkeepers… but clearly our parents and the society at large have a hand in building our prisons. They create roles for us — and self-images — that hold us captive for a long time. The individual intent on self-renewal will have to deal with ghosts of the past — the memory of earlier failures, the re
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