The article deals with the relationship between parents' immaturity and the process of children's upbringing. It is based on the report of a clinical experience where symptom formation in the children was due to the parental couple's difficulty in the constitution of conjugality and in the establishment of their respective roles within the family, along with a strong interference from the extended family. Winnicott's theory is used to compare the development of the child with that of the family and to articulate it with characteristics of current society.
couple; symptom; child; family