“Small adolescence”. Envelope, language and identity battle
Mellier, Denis
“Small adolescence”. Envelope, language and identity battle - 2023.
61
The period between the ages of 2 and 3 is marked by strong opposition from the child to his parents. It can be considered as a “small adolescence” insofar as the subject accedes to a new independence while not wanting to lose the gains of a previous situation of dependence. The author hypothesizes that this “identity battle” is the sign of a radical “revolution” in the child. In the first part he indicates that this period implies a transformation of the child’s body image and therefore of the psychic envelopes between him and his parents. The containing work and the attention of parents are very much intertwined with the drive issues specific to their relationship. The paradoxical use of verbal negation (the “no”) shows the dilemma in which the young child finds himself between a modality of being-with-the other where non-verbal communication dominates and the possibility of a sharing area at the linguistic level. In the second part, examples illustrate the possible future of this dilemma: its crystallization and persistence, its reduction on the contrary when the forces of opposition supplant the benefit of access to language or when, on the contrary, the child builds a false self by denying his or her “baby self”. This period, which is deeply inscribed in intersubjective issues, conditions the existence of a maturation of intrapsychic conflicts.
“Small adolescence”. Envelope, language and identity battle - 2023.
61
The period between the ages of 2 and 3 is marked by strong opposition from the child to his parents. It can be considered as a “small adolescence” insofar as the subject accedes to a new independence while not wanting to lose the gains of a previous situation of dependence. The author hypothesizes that this “identity battle” is the sign of a radical “revolution” in the child. In the first part he indicates that this period implies a transformation of the child’s body image and therefore of the psychic envelopes between him and his parents. The containing work and the attention of parents are very much intertwined with the drive issues specific to their relationship. The paradoxical use of verbal negation (the “no”) shows the dilemma in which the young child finds himself between a modality of being-with-the other where non-verbal communication dominates and the possibility of a sharing area at the linguistic level. In the second part, examples illustrate the possible future of this dilemma: its crystallization and persistence, its reduction on the contrary when the forces of opposition supplant the benefit of access to language or when, on the contrary, the child builds a false self by denying his or her “baby self”. This period, which is deeply inscribed in intersubjective issues, conditions the existence of a maturation of intrapsychic conflicts.
Réseaux sociaux