ABSTRACT
The demonstration of proper motivation was as complex a business with staff as it was on some occasions with parents. Indeed, in some ways staff were potentially more suspect. Parents at least had 'natural' reasons for wanting to help their child, even if these were shaky at times, but the motives of staff were merely professional; put another way, it was simply a job. Staff's technical interest in children may be analysed under a number of different headings. There was, for a variety of reasons, a major emphasis on the unusual, and words such as 'odd', 'dramatic' or 'abnormal' were key terms in the clinical format. Kicking the child was not treated as an overt issue, but such behaviour provided a covert warrant for the removal of the mother's normal rights to question staff's decisions.
