Now here is something I am going to learn to treat. Maybe Freud was correct; everything does go back to sex and aggression, sometimes simultaneously.
I do think the “David Syndrome” is the result of a developmental arrest. My son does this all the time. He builds things and then delights in tearing them down. He draws things and then he rips them up. I think it should be called the “Lego Syndrome.”
DSM-V, here I come.
I agree and I like what you said Grantdale-Your inner feelings are showing and they are wonderful. I would add one more thing to the list- more love.
As a mother of a grown son, and now 2 grandsons, I have to say legos are for building and then changing. Framing a lego masterpiece to put up on the refrigerator is a little difficult. As a scientist I like to think that the kids are learning physics. However if one is able to see such beauty in “David” I can’t imagine wanting to destroy it.
The only “treatment” the kid needs is…
> more paper
> more wooden blocks
> more mud
> more sticks
> more sand
> more things blowing up or falling down.
And I guess it’s Pennsylvania, so more snow.
Dad — that’d be your job to provide.
BTW: for what its worth… he will be an engineer, a gardener, or a carpenter…
What a fantastic age that is 🙂 The 3yo neice is EXACTLY the same, as is the 3yo boy just up the road. The destrucution is merely an invitation to create. Again. And Again. And, what a surprise, again.
(and in passing — wasn’t this deemed the “Florence Syndrome” some 20 years ago? Can’t say I felt destructive… more like in absolute awe at the size and artistry of the statue. David looks rather weird in photos, but looking up at it as it was designed to be viewed — sublime.)
That is actually an interesting theory. Not one that a Freudian would be inclined to entertain however 🙂
I’ve been reading for a couple of months, but this is the first time I decided to respond. I figured I’d start on a less controversial subject.
My alma mater has been going through major renovation ever since I started going there and has continued through the years since I graduated. With the regular, unimaginative fundraisers of buying bricks to either build or lay sidewalk, I thought that more of my peers would pay more money to take a sledgehammer to Spence Hall.
Even after natural disasters like fires and volcano eruptions, it doesn’t take too long for the destruction to yeild new growth. I don’t know that I’d ever try to destroy something like the “David,” but my brother and I liked tearing up our lego houses to make room for new creations. I guess that’s my point–is destruction creative and purposeful or is it just destructive?