CITE: Janov, A. The Feeling Child. Little, Brown and Company. 1992.
1st ed 1979
SUMMARY
Combining research with his observations of adult patients at the Primal Institute, a psychologist discusses the ways in which parents emotionally cripple children.
SELECTED QUOTES
- “We need to realize that the child is not only the helpless victim of our neglect, but the repository of our deepest, darkest fears and hopes. It is in the child that we place our bets for the future, whether they are for peace or war, whether for love or hate.” (p. 2)
- “The process of separating the child from its feelings is the single most powerful force in the creation of a neurotic adult.” (p. 20)
- “A feeling child is a spontaneous, alive, and trusting child. A feeling child is capable of responding to others and his environment in a direct and open way. He is capable of experiencing love and joy. A feeling child is also capable of dealing with the world in a realistic way.” (p. 33)
- “We are trapped in our own history, unable to separate from it. We live in a world that has never known peace, but in which conflict, greed, and power have dominated. It is no wonder that we are living with such anxiety and terror, with such feelings of impotence and rage.” (p. 134)
- “The child who is not allowed to feel will never be able to love, will never be able to relate to others, and will never be able to develop his full potential as a human being.” (p. 207)
