Like a child’s growth chart, the seven editions of Dr. Spock’s baby-care book plot changes in the author’s philosophy about child care, as well as new problems faced by each wave of new parents.
The edition for the new millennium, to be published May 2, tries to stay relevant by including topics such as the Internet, gay parents, vegetarian diets and parenting adolescents.
The following excerpts from three editions show how Spock’s straightforward style and “trust yourself” theme persevered–even as some of his parenting tips evolved.
From the 1957 second edition of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care by Dr. Benjamin Spock:
On temper tantrums:
Frequent tantrums are more often due to the fact that the mother hasn’t learned the knack of handling the child tactfully. There are several questions to ask: Does he have plenty of chance to play freely outdoors . . . and are there things for him to pull and climb on there? . . . Is she, without realizing it, arousing his balking by telling him to come and get his shirt on instead of slipping it on without comment?
On spanking:
If an angry parent keeps himself from spanking, he may show his irritation in other ways, for instance, by nagging the child for half the day, or trying to make him feel deeply guilty. I’m not particularly advocating spanking, but I think it is less poisonous than lengthy disapproval, because it clears the air, for parent and child.
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On working mothers:
Some mothers have to work to make a living. Usually their children turn out all right, because some reasonably good arrangement is made for their care. But others grow up neglected and maladjusted . . . The infant whose mother can’t take care of him during the daytime needs individual care, whether it’s in his own home or someone else’s.
From the 1992 sixth edition, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, by Dr. Benjamin Spock and Dr. Michael B. Rothenberg:
On feeding schedules:
Most babies have a natural tendency to establish a regular pattern of feeding and sleeping . . . The main purpose of any schedule is to do right by the baby.
On spanking:
The American tradition of spanking may be one cause of the fact that there is much more violence in our country than in any other comparable nation . . . In the twentieth century, as parents and professionals have studied children here and in other countries, they have come to realize that children can be well-behaved . . . without ever having been punished physically–or in other ways.
On managing family and career:
Parents who know that they need a career or certain kind of work for fulfillment should not simply give it up for the sake of their children . . . Instead, I think such parents should work out some kind of compromise between their two jobs and the needs of their children . . . especially during the crucial first three years of a child’s development.
From the 1998 seventh edition, Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care, by Dr. Benjamin Spock and Dr. Steven J. Parker
On video/computer games:
The best that can be said of them is they may help promote eye-hand coordination in children. The worst that can be said is that they sanction, and even promote, aggression and violent responses to conflict. But what can be said with much greater certainty is this: most computer games are a colossal waste of time.
On a non-dairy diet:
I no longer recommend dairy products after the age of 2 years. The problems with dairy range from fat and cholesterol to health problems like asthma, chronic ear infections and skin conditions. (Spock suggests other calcium sources for the child’s diet.)
On gay parents:
Tests of psychological adjustment show no significant differences between the well-being of children raised by heterosexual parents and those raised by gay parents . . . My feeling is that good parents are good parents.
On disciplining adolescent children:
Parents can’t dictate to their adolescent children or talk down to them. But they can have mutually respectful adult-to-adult discussions. Young people never have been willing to be guided beyond a certain point by their parents, but that doesn’t mean that they have not benefited from discussions.