This paper presents a broad discussion of the importance of a child's attachment to his mother and the relationship of such attachment to the child's optimal psychic development. Research at the Children's Unit of the Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute (which focused on children's aggression and gender formation) is described. This research indicates that even "good" mothers, because of lack of formal and technical training for parenthood, too often do not understand their child's attachment to them and so are unable to handle even normal conflicts. Based on this assumption, some parameters of "good-enough" mothering are defined. Examples from clinical encounters with mother-child groups are used to support the contention that adequate education for parenthood must be incorporated into high school curricula. (ED)