ABSTRACT
Mr Micawber maintained that when our resources are greater than the demands made upon us, we function very well; but when the demands (stresses) upon us exceed our resources, we cannot cope. The message from Gowen’s (1979) model of childrearing environments is the same as Mr Micawber’s. In the see-saw balance of the demands/resources ratio (p. 27), an uptilt in our resources brings benefits to us and to the system of which we are a part. If we are responsible for a child’s upbringing, the child too is likely to benefit. When demands pile high upon us, outweighing resources, we function badly and the probabilities worsen for the child.
