Introduction

In the last chapter we examined child guidance provision's expansion from its initial location in London, its further recognition by the Board of Education and its spread by way of various media and events and through the activities of supporters and practitioners. We now turn to those at whom child guidance was aimed, the normal child suffering some form of maladjustment, the symptoms of which were various behaviours deemed in some way unacceptable. We thus analyse in more detail what is meant by the concept of ‘normalcy’ and the significance or otherwise of ‘happiness’ to a child's mental well-being. Using selected case studies we engage with the diagnosis and treatment accorded to a child patient and its family when referred to a clinic. As will become apparent, child guidance's focus quickly shifted to parents and particularly the mother. All these concerns and activities were allegedly in pursuit of better mental hygiene for children, their families and the broader society.

In Search of the Normal Child

Notwithstanding their different functions and aspirations, the three child guidance professions were anxious to promote their own, and child guidance's, scientific credentials. A further unifying feature was their concern with the normal child – that is the child who at some point in his or her emotional and psychological development might become maladjusted but who, through the intervention of the child guidance team, could be returned to normalcy. Achieving normalcy, though, was not unproblematic.