Note 210 — Chapter XIV · THE ATTITUDE OF PARENTS TO CHILDREN

The identification of the child with its grandparent is of course not without effect upon the mind of the child himself, where it is reinforced by a variety of other motives, such as:—the wish to become the parent of his own parent (i. e. the corresponding notion to that in the mind of the child's parent which we have just been considering), the wish to dispense with his parent (cp. p. 109), the projection on to the grandparent of the grandiose ideas formerly entertained with regard to the parent (cp. p. 55), and finally the results of the happy relationship that often exists between child and grandparent (owing to the fact that the grandparents are as a rule less responsible for the child's upbringing and education and less stern and vigorous in the assertion of their authority). As a consequence there may arise in the child a strong tendency to imitate the grandparents—a tendency that may constitute an important factor in moulding the child's beliefs, attitudes, desires, and occupations. Cp. Ernest Jones, "Papers on Psycho-Analysis," 652, ff.