Replacement child

A **replacement child** is a child who is conceived by parents to replace an older dead sibling. He or she is usually of the same sex as the child that is replaced and is given the same name. The replacement child provides comfort to the parents for the loss of the earlier child. It is also frequently believed to be a reincarnation of the lost child. As a result, a replacement child represents the hopes and dreams parents had for the dead child.

## History

The replacement child or replacement child syndrome became popular in periods of high infant mortality but continues in modern times in some places. In some religions and cultures, it is bad luck to mention a dead child's name. Even among European royal families, a dead child was often referred to by title and not by name. Among the replacement children of Holocaust survivors the names of the dead were often not spoken of. The name was memorialized in the replacement child since because they were alive, the name could be used.

In early modern Europe, the name given to children was supposed to make them like the person for whom they were named. In many cases, the name given a child was an attempt to recreate the lost child (or ancestor). The grief that the family felt over the dead child was made better by naming the child after the lost child. That shows a belief that dead spirits were present among the living. In Renaissance Italy, the belief was that a child was born into the identity given him or her by his family. The modern idea that people create their own fate did not exist in earlier times.

Philippe Airès's _L'enfant et la vie familiale sous l'ancien régime_ ("The Child and Family Life during the _Ancien Régime"_), was published in 1960. The historian believed that before the 18th century, the French had no real concept of children. They were seen as miniature adults and were often dressed like adults. Since parents knew many of their children would not survive, parents did not invest in their children emotionally. However, his book has been criticised, as simplistic.

### Famous replacement children

- Vincent van Gogh was a replacement child. He was born a year after the death of his brother, also named Vincent. He even had the same birthday. Living at the church rectory, Vincent walked past the grave of his dead brother every day.

- Richard I of England was originally not supposed to become King of England since he was the third son. But he was a replacement child.

- Napoléon III of France was a replacement child. His older brother, Napoléon Charles Bonaparte, died at age four.

- Ludwig van Beethoven was also a replacement child. He was the second-born son and one of the three children out of seven who survived infancy.

## The heir and the spare

In history, it has long been a practice for an aristocratic wife to provide an "heir and a spare". That means an heir to continue the family line and a spare in case the heir died too young. In royal families, one spare was the minimum. When child mortality rates were high, more children were considered better to secure the throne. Queen Victoria had nine children. George III had thirteen. The children had different names, but the concept is still the same.

## Other websites

- The Replacement Child: In Search of Self, Psychology Today
- I'm a replacement child
- Beaten but Unbowed (Waking from the nightmare of abuse) Karen Braysher a true account of a Replacement Child for her 13 month older Thalidomide sister who was institutalised, although expected to die in infancy. Available on Amazon