When the child acquires the word "bye-bye," he "begins to take the departures of his parents with more grace." The acquisition of language also makes it possible for the child to show more self-control and plays a role in the formation of his conscience.
I consider myself a developmental psychiatrist, an area in which child development is essential to all therapeutic engagement. Much can be learned about the patient if we know about his childhood and parents. I often see the patient doing to his child what his parents did to him. Patients are always shocked when I point this out to them, and the process of understanding how they got to where they are occurs. I call it therapeutic living. The book is so important because it tries to help parents learn how to handle tough developmental moments and periods. The section on toilet training is classic.
Please read "The Magic Years," and get your colleagues and students to read it as well. Ms. Fraiberg was a true master of the analytic method.
Dr. Fink is a psychiatrist and consultant, and professor of psychiatry at Temple University, Philadelphia.