ABSTRACT
Selma Fraiberg pointed out the presence of "ghosts in the nursery." She called them "visitors from the unremembered past of the parents, the uninvited guests at the christening. Such an intrusive ghost creates a major source of mismatch between parent and infant. The parents are unable to react to the infant's signals, because they are busy communicating with a ghost. This ghost may occupy the whole space, leaving no chance for parents to see their child, or it may interfere with specific issues: eating, sleeping, discipline. In our culture it is normal for parents to endow their children with the features of deceased relatives; this allows the continuation of attachment, the permanence of family traditions, and the maintenance of filiation. In other cultures, a child may be seen as a more literal reincarnation of ancestors. Practically all overprotective behavior in parents is due to underlying— though often conscious—fears that the infant is threatened by imminent destruction.
