ABSTRACT
Development, and therefore mental health and disturbance, takes place within the context of the care-giving relationships children have with their parents. Early care has a decisive, lifelong influence on how children learn, form relationships, experience and regulate their emotions and their behaviour (Belsky, 2001; Melhuish 2004). The majority of parents, the ‘ordinary devoted mothers’ (Winnicott, 1949) and fathers, provide their children with a loving, safe home. ‘Good enough’ parents protect and comfort their babies, play with, praise and enjoy them. They also sometimes ‘get it wrong’ but try to rectify this in relation to the baby. Their babies respond, initiate, interact, explore and show pleasure. However, some parents find it very difficult to provide their children with conditions for this rounded development. In more extreme circumstances of hostile, neglectful environments, babies fail to thrive and their normal development is severely compromised or interrupted.
