Childhood and Attachment

The books, in order

1. 1

   Family and Parenting · 15 min

   The Child, the Family, and the Outside World

   D. W. Winnicott

   Caring for the caregiver is part of childcare: an exhausted, unsupported mother has a much harder time comforting her child.

   See the summary

2. 2

   Family and Parenting · 13 min

   Playing and Reality

   D. W. Winnicott

   Separation in small doses teaches us to cope with absence, and a cherished object can help us through that transition.

   See the summary

3. 3

   Family and Parenting · 15 min

   The Drama of the Gifted Child

   Alice Miller

   According to the author, grandiosity and depression can be two faces of a sense of self-worth that depends on approval, which is why applause may never be enough.

   See the summary

4. 4

   Psychology · 14 min

   Childhood and Society

   Erik H. Erikson

   For Erikson, the trust a baby builds comes more from the consistency of care than from the amount of pampering.

   See the summary

5. 5

   Family and Parenting · 17 min

   The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds

   John Bowlby

   According to the book, a baby's attachment grows out of a search for contact and comfort, not simply out of whoever fills the fridge.

   See the summary

6. 6

   Family and Parenting · 14 min

   How to Raise an Adult

   Julie Lythcott-Haims

   Much of overprotection grows out of fear, and fear is a terrible advisor when you are raising a child.

   See the summary