The book delves into the complexities of puberty, framing it as a "normal state of crisis" in the parent-teenager relationship. It examines the profound physical changes, hormonal shifts, and neurological developments that characterize this tumultuous period, highlighting how these factors impact interactions and dynamics between parents and their teenage children over several years.
Latency: The Golden Age of Childhood concerns the child's emotional and cognitive development during the period of latency. It constitutes a bridge between the first stormy years of child development and adolescence. The conflicts and libidinous wishes of early childhood are relegated to the background and become latent: in general, an emotional and physical stabilization occurs. The child is attempting to find its place in the world. Accordingly, its primary interest is no longer in itself or its parents, but in the outside world. This is particularly manifested in forms of play typical for this age range, strongly influenced by imitation of the adult world and reality-oriented. At the same time, the body is explored (and its awareness is strengthened through numerous games involving movement, skill and competition). In all societies, this period is when school begins. The latency development includes new physical and intellectual capabilities as well as the development of new ways to deal with problems of social hierarchy; gradually, tolerance of tensions and a stabilization of identity are developed as well.
The book describes the psychoanalytic perspective of development of theparent-infant relationship in the first three years of life. The importance of the earliest experiences of the child in the interaction with the parents shape sthe emerging personality of the child. The book follows the life of a child from birth to the third year.
