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Quote by Lloyd deMause

Work

The History of Childhood: The Untold Story of Child Abuse

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Author

Lloyd deMause
Lloyd deMause

Lloyd deMause is a renowned psychoanalyst born in September 1931. His research focuses on the intersection of child development, family dynamics, and historical psychology. DeMause is known for his work on child abuse and neglect, which has provided new insights into the field of psychology. His theories have had a profound impact on understanding child development and the history of society. more

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“There is a thing that happens with children: If no one is watching them, nothing is really happening to them. It is not some philosophical conundrum like the one about the tree falling in the forest and no one hearing it: that is a puzzler for college freshman. No. If you are very small, you actually understand that there is no point in jumping into the swimming pool unless they see you do it. The child crying, ‘‘Watch me, watch me,’’ is not begging for attention; he is pleading for existence itself.”

“They were complete little people talking to her from a mind she knew nothing about and would have to learn to apprehend; although this person had grown in her body, had torn it emerging, had once shared pulse and food and blood and joy and grief, it was now a separate person whose innards, mind and spirit and emotion, she would never completely comprehend. It was as if one weren't born suddenly, but progressively; as if each birth were also a death, each step they made in development moving them further away from her, from their oneness with her, and in time, far, far from her, they would merge with others, have children themselves, join and separate, until the final separation, which would also be a birth into a new mode.”