What Nursery School Teachers ask us about Psychoanalytic Consultations in preschools. Edited by Erna Furman. Emotions and Behaviour Monographs — Monograph No. 5.

As I came to the end of this book I found myself feeling sad. I wished they had tackled more topics. This wish that the book had been longer was something of a surprise as, when I had started reading, it was an effort to keep going. Initially the book was dull, stating the obvious. However, perseverance was rewarded and from the end of the second chapter the book began to come to life.

What was wrong initially? Chapter One concentrates on the role parents and teachers play in the life of the young child, and is a résumé of the differences between mother/child and teacher/child relationships. There are some useful distinctions, but it is written very simply, far beneath the sophistication of most qualified teachers, I would suggest. Then Chapter Two on the father/child relationship was chauvinist and is likely to arouse some hostility, if the reader does not give up because the style is patronising and heavy.

The chapters that follow in Part I gradually speak with a different voice. There is the sense that the authors are now speaking from the experience of consultation and clinical work rather than giving their own concepts. The problems of separation for children and how important it is that it is handled as sensitively as possible is made very clear. The distinction between physical separation and a mastery of the separation experience is useful and explained in a helpful way. The clinical example is used with skill to show how separation problems can prevent a child beginning to learn, and how consultation can facilitate the teachers by enabling them to rethink their approach and make sense of the children's behaviour. Stress and discipline in nursery classes are also discussed in a sympathetic way, with creative useful comments that clearly come out of long experience. The chapter on aggression in preschool children is lively and concise and has a practical application which is of value. The same is true for the account of helping young children with their sexuali