Negligent, abusive and damaging advice given to parents by assumed experts lingers today. There is, Watson (1928) wrote, “a sensible way of treating children....

Never hug and kiss them, never let them sit in your lap. If you must, kiss them once on the fore-head when they say good night.

Shake hands with them in the morning. Give them a pat on the head if they have made an extraordinarily good job of a difficult task. Try it out. In a week’s time you will find how easy itis to be         perfectly objective with your child and at the same time kindly. You will be utterly ashamed of the mawkish, sentimental way you have been handling it.”