Abstract
The publication of the Curtis Report, and the
passing into law of the Children Act 1948, were outstanding
landmarks in the history of social welfare in Great Britain.
The neglect of the educational, social, physical and spiritual
welfare of children in the late eighteenth and much of the
nineteenth century, and their exploitation in the sudden
expansion of industrial 'output, is a shameful passage in
the history of civilisation. The activities of enlightened
men and women in the nineteenth century have slowly moulded
public opinion towards a greater concern for the welfare of
children, though the slowness of this process is perhaps
illustrated by the fact that the death penalty for children
was not erased from the Statute Book until 1908.
The Children Act of 1948 has made possible much
greater supervision of children who lack a parent's love and
guardianship, and has made possible better treatment of
children who have suffered a disruption of their family life.
However, it is one thing to introduce legislation which makes
possible better care and treatment; it is quite another to
know what that better care might be. The full intention
and spirit of the Act cannot at present be realised, because
too little is known of the factors involved the child's
development in the family, or the effects of deprivation of
family life. Wise action demands knowledge, and knowledge here
is by no means adequate.
This study, it is hoped, may add something to this knowledge,
and is undertaken as a service to those children that might
benefit from a greater understanding of their problems
It surveys what we know at present
about the psychology of children who lack +he normal love and care
of parents in family life. It examines the facts available on
psychological development within the family structure, and endeavours to co-ordinate existing knowledge on these aspects of child
development with information on the effects of a lack of family
life.
