Word: spock
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...BENJAMIN SPOCK is not a public figure, but he has more leverage on tomorrow than many men who are. In six years his 35? Pocket Book on baby care has sold more than 4,000,000 copies, which puts it in a class with the dictionary and the Bible. Millions of mothers regard him as an oracle, parents turn out 5,000 strong to hear him lecture, and other pediatricians joke that their main job is to interpret him. One mother stands a little in awe of her child because he was examined by the doctor in school. "I look...
...babies on schedule (regular on the bottle and on the pot), disciplined, and free of germs. Then the rules changed. Babies were to be treated as individuals from birth, cuddling was to be considered as important as cleanliness, and strong discipline a measure that can usually be avoided. Dr. Spock did not pioneer the new attitude, but he explained it better than anyone else by showing how it applies in a hundred commonplace situations, as when a baby takes up the habit of banging his head against the wall, or when a boy will eat only hamburgers, bananas and soda...
When he began to write his book in 1943, Dr. Spock was 40, a father and successful Manhattan practitioner who had dosed himself with pediatrics, psychology and psychoanalysis while keeping a manner as easy and friendly as a country doctor's. He still has the crew cut, healthy good looks and spontaneous guffaw of a college boy, still manages his 6 ft. 4 in. with the lanky ease that helped send him to the Olympics in 1924 as one of the best oarsmen Yale ever produced. After college he got most of his exercise on the dance floor. With...
...scientific basis for doing so. They tend to intellectualize faults and vainly try to use reason to bring obedience. This is worse than simply laying down the law to small fry: "You can't do this because I don't like it." ¶ Baby Expert Benjamin Spock went further: there should be a clear distinction between fitting people for parenthood and teaching them about psychiatry and analysis. Knowing about the causes of insecurity does not make family life easier. As a matter of fact, said Spock, it is harder for psychiatrists than ordinary mortals to bring up their...