Do Infants Really “Love” Nursery? Rethinking a Common Narrative It’s a familiar reassurance: “Children love nursery!” And for many children, attending nursery at the right developmental stage really can be a positive experience. From around two-and-a-half years old, and especially as they approach their third birthday, most children are able to benefit from a couple of short sessions each week. By the end of that year, some may even thrive in a routine that resembles early school hours. At this age, children can usually tell their parents that they’ve had fun — and if they say they’ve had a lovely […]

Projection: How We Build Narratives to Avoid Facing Ourselves Projection is one of the mind’s oldest survival strategies. When something within us feels too uncomfortable to acknowledge—fear, insecurity, guilt, anger—we push it outward and assign it to someone else. Instead of recognizing I am hurt, we insist you hurt me. Instead of admitting I feel […]

Blame is something we all experience—whether we’re directing it toward others, toward situations, or most often, toward ourselves. In moments of stress, conflict, or disappointment, blame can feel like a natural way to make sense of what went wrong. But while it may offer temporary relief or clarity, it rarely helps us move forward. As […]

In this second post on Attachment, I want to explore and reflect on the fascinating ideas presented in Different Faces of Attachment: Cultural Variations on a Universal Human Need, edited by Hiltrud Otto and Heidi Keller.

Belief - They will not remember it when they are older.  There are two things wrong with this as an assertion that day nursery is an acceptable form of infant care. First, there is a suggestion that there is something that would be better not remembered. Second, it is true that they will not remember […]