ABSTRACT
This chapter provides background on some of the problems that children may bring to the classroom. Sometimes, children behave badly in order to receive help for their mothers. Ms Andrews, the subject of this chapter, was sent away as an infant and had enormous difficulty forgiving her parents. Ms Andrews had come to see in a mood of doing what she was told, in order to prevent trouble, which for her meant the possibility of losing her children to the authorities. The sending of a part of Ms Andrews' mother in the form of her baby daughter to her own mother may have helped her mother to become well again. Ms Andrews' natural mother was a complete stranger to her, as was her stepfather, and in joining the new family she lost the special position she had enjoyed before with her grandmother.
