Bruno Bettelheim (August 28, 1903 – March 13, 1990) was an Austrian-born American child psychologist and writer. He gained an international reputation for his work on Freud, psychoanalysis, and emotionally disturbed children.
Read more about Bruno Bettelheim: Background, Life and Career in The United States, Popular Culture
Famous quotes by bruno bettelheim:
“The good enough mother, owing to her deep empathy with her infant, reflects in her face his feelings; this is why he sees himself in her face as if in a mirror and finds himself as he sees himself in her. The not good enough mother fails to reflect the infant’s feelings in her face because she is too preoccupied with her own concerns, such as her worries over whether she is doing right by her child, her anxiety that she might fail him.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“To be a good enough parent one must be able to feel secure in one’s parenthood, and one’s relation to one’s child...The security of the parent about being a parent will eventually become the source of the child’s feeling secure about himself.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“What children learn from punishment is that might makes right. When they are old and strong enough, they will try to get their own back; thus many children punish their parents by acting in ways distressing to them.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“The good enough parent, in addition to being convinced that whatever his child does, he does it because at that moment he is convinced this is the best he can do, will also ask himself: ‘What in the world would make me act as my child acts at this moment? And if I felt forced to act this way, what would make me feel better about it?’”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)
“Raising children is a creative endeavor, an art rather than a science.”
—Bruno Bettelheim (20th century)