Ozzidoc

Yes!!

dan_alford

Reminds me of the scene in Daddy day care where the nerd turns out to be an excellent child minder because he mistakingly read the Dr. Spock book.

snowbunny

My mother's parents followed the Spock book.

The results are for life and they're heartbreaking. It will take several generations to undo the damage that one book did.

Yorkieabroad

I've heard of it, but never seen it - and now I'd be scared to open it in case I got any ideas! whats so bad about it?

Leslie

Oh ffs ..... he wasn't that bad.

It's like anything ..... if you don't use your own judgment and common sense (or if you don't have any) and rely completely on pop-psychology to raise your children - there are going to be problems.

Dr. Spock & his theories are still widely respected and used today. His approach was one of the first to encourage affection and respect over discipline and punishment. To actually treat the child like a human being rather than a disobedient pet. He advocated picking your baby up when he cried (prior to that doctors told mothers that it would "spoil" the child to do so). The idea was to treat the child as an individual and try to help them find out where they "fit in" rather than force them to conform to rigid societal requirements - which was the norm prior to his appearance on the child-rearing scene.

The flip side (probably what Rete is referring to) is this approach can be taken too far ...... leading to a lack of respect for authority. Also, certain children actually need boundaries and discipline ... whereas other children by their very nature do much better in a less rigid environment.

Partystar

Holy f**ksticks Batman, that must have been one very powerful book to have such an effect! :scared:

I shall not go anywhere near it!

Partystar

Ah I see, interesting.

TouristTrap

NOT the greatest book.

Rete, you need to read a book by Kay Hymowitz, a Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute, titled, 'How treating small children as adults is ruining their future and ours'. Excellent book.

snowbunny

The trouble with pop psychology is *precisely* that they target those who want rules, rather than common sense or advice from family/friends -- the most rigid people, who want to have someone to point to as their guide. Sounds sort of like religion, I guess.

Leslie

Pop-psychology - much like religion - should be approached with discernment. Anybody that hands all of their power over to an adviser, whether religious or psychological, is doomed.

Dr. Spock, like any good priest, shared a lot of good ideas and healthy advise.

At the end of the day we have to take responsibility for our own lives as well as the upbringing of our children.