: 158–9 Brazelton argues that too much cheering a child up devalues the emotion of sadness for them : 52 and Selma Fraiberg suggests that it is important to respect a child's right to experience a loss fully and deeply. If the mother cannot allow the minor distress involved, the child may never learn how to deal with sadness by themselves. Every time a child separates a little more, he or she will have to cope with a small loss. Sadness is part of the normal process of the child separating from an early symbiosis with the mother and becoming more independent.
Berry Brazelton suggests that acknowledging sadness can make it easier for families to address more serious emotional problems. Some families may have a (conscious or unconscious) rule that sadness is 'not allowed', but Robin Skynner has suggested that this may cause problems, arguing that with sadness 'screened off', people can become shallow and manic. Sometimes, sadness can lead to depression.
Sadness is a common experience in childhood.
