You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
Anna Freud has often remarked that the body of knowledge compiled by child analysts can provide valuable information and insights for parents, educators, and others concerned with fostering healthy child development. Because psychoanalytic concepts of development are based oh observations of normal children as well as data from treatment settings, they have clear applications to such everyday situations as separations from mother, weaning, toilet training, introduction to group settings, and so on.
The number of infants and young children in day care is expanding, yet concerns about the possible long term consequences of such child care arrangements persist. Research by Spitz (1965), Mahler (1975), Bowlby (1969), Meers (1968), and others has clearly highlighted the need to consider the possible impact on a child's personality development when making any significant changes in the caretaking environment. Some child analysts (; Fraiberg, 1977) have also specifically warned that many child care situations, even those which appear superficially adequate or satisfactory, may in fact have a detrimental effect on the child's long term development. has argued that full-time day care arrangements, particularly in the earlier pre-school years, can constitute a developmental interference, introducing the risk of distorted object relations, impaired ego development and increased susceptibility to various developmental fixations or arrests.
If we agree that a potential risk to optimal development may be inherent in many day care arrangements, then, given the large number of children being cared for in such arrangements, what can those with a psychoanalytic orientation and with expertise in child development offer? Can we help to minimize any potentially negative impact of the day care solution for child care? In what ways can we help caregivers capitalize on growthenhancing aspects of the day care setting?
The potential risks or benefits of day care for a particular ch