Introduction

Being part of a family is a developmental task which under ordinary circumstances both children and parents have to negotiate. From the infant’s earliest relationship with their primary carer, usually their mother, and the wish for an exclusive relationship with each parent, there is a growing awareness and acceptance of the parents’ relationship with each other and the separateness and independence of others. The complexity of this process for young children has been conceptualised by psychoanalytic literature over time and in different ways, but there is general agreement that the successful negotiation of the Oedipal complex contributes to a sense of self and the growth of the capacity for love and concern. As Britton (1989: 86-7) states, ‘the “triangular space” bounded by the three persons of the Oedipal situation and all their potential relationships … provides us with a capacity for seeing ourselves in interaction with others and for entertaining another point of view whilst retaining our own, for refl ecting on ourselves whilst being ourselves’.