The experience of becoming and having a sibling is a common situation for many preschool children. In order to clarify the implications of such an event for the older preschool child, the authors have surveyed the literature and interviewed a series of families where there was a second or third birth. This is a preliminary communication where a broad overview of the many variables involved is sought. Varied techniques for preparing the older preschool sibling were observed, as were varied coping mechanisms employed by the older child in adjusting to the change in his family status. Fourteen variables are discussed, and suggestions are made for further research. Everyday life is rich in surprise and novelty for the preschool child. He constantly encounters the previously unknown and is frequently coming upon new situations that push him to make new adaptations which usefully enlarge his repertoire of coping mechanisms. Some new experiences will delight him, while others puzzle, bewilder, confuse, or frighten him, thus putting him under stress. A common stressful situation in early childhood and one with lasting implications is the experience of becoming and having a sibling. For

Some of the clinical and theoretical issues thought to be involved in the psychology of "replacement children" are discussed. A developmental framework is proposed within which to view such children. The replacement child is becoming an identifiable clinical syndrome, and a developmental framework is sorely needed to encourage more systematic research. A replacement child perceives his status differently on both a cognitive and emotional level within the context of each developmental phase, and the affective and associative links need to be reworked each time. We view the status of being a replacement child as a developmental interference insofar as demands are placed on the child's immature ego which he might not yet be equipped to cope with.

With the waning of the tonic neck reflex beginning with the 8th to 12th week, and disappearing, in most instances, by the 16th week, the infant begins to become bilateral and makes symmetrical movements and engages his hands in the midline usually over the chest while in a supine position. The developmental significance of such behavior is considered--for example, its participation in the emerging sense of self and its role in the consolidation of emerging ego skills. Consideration is given to the possible implications of faulty midline behavior for development, and to whether failure to engage in an optimal amount of midline behavior, in interaction with other factors, can be used to alert observers to possible future developmental disturbances.

ABSTRACT:In clinical work, we have observed that the loss of the father through divorce has a significant effect on the young girl's developing sense of feminity. This paper briefly reviews the research findings from sex-role development theory and psychoanalytic theory, and presents clinical discussions of latency aged girls whose parents divorced during their daughter's early and oedipal years. The most common defensive or coping patterns seen in these child patients during latency are identified, with clinical material presented to illustrate both the existence of these patterns and implications for treatment.In our clinical work with children of divorce, we have observed that female children often react with a profound sense of loss to the departure of the father from the family unit. The plaintive cry, "Why did Daddy leave us?" is not uncommon. We see not only the acute sense of loss experienced by these children, but also the effect of the father's absence on the course of development over time. I The important role played by the father in the development of the girl's sense of femininity is recognized in both psychoanalytic theory and findings from studies of sex role development. While the effects of father absence on identifica1Kalter and Rembar (1981) report that nearly two-thirds of their sample of Children's Psychiatric Hospital patients had experienced parental divorce over five years earlier. 3519

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