Dr. Spock Baby Care Book

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Remember this nursery staple when raising baby?

Did you have one?

If so, do you still have it?

Did you find it helpful?

If you never owned a copy of the Dr. Spock Baby Care Book, what did you rely on for reference when it came to the health and care of your children when they were babies?
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
Didn't read it but probably agreed with a lot of it. I knew I wanted to do gentle loving parenting and that's what I did. I never followed others ideas. I tried to give what I had in my heart and feel it worked out well. I was t perfect but I tried very hard and was very mindful of what I did regarding them. If I made a mistake I apologized fast. I felt intristically that what my mom did...I should do the opposite and I did well as far as not yelling a lot, calling names, over punishing or physical punishment which I never even felt compelled to do. I thought it was insane not to pick up a crying baby. I couldn't bear to let them just cry and deep within I felt it was wrong to allow an I can't to cry so I didn't. And guess what? No e of my kids are spoiled so toss that idea down the drain. Without any doubt or regret my kids came first, second and third.

I relied on myself and sometimes talked to my BFF who was a lot like me. All my friends were kind, child centered parents.

I relied on doctors for health care. I wasn't a doctor or nurse.

Even if my peers had spanked and yelled and had the attitude "children should be seen and not heard" or "kids aren't as important as adults"....I would never have believed it and could never have done it. To this day I have gentle loving relationships with my four, usually even Bart. And none of them complain about their childhoods. In fact t they all say they had good childhoods.

Question: why would you think we needed a book to know what to as a mother? Don't we just all do what we feel is best?
 
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Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Didn't read it but probably agreed with a lot of it. I knew I wanted to do gentle loving parenting and that's what I did. I never followed others ideas. I tried to give what I had in my heart and feel it worked out well. I was t perfect but I tried very hard and was very mindful of what I did regarding them. If I made a mistake I apologized fast. I felt intristically that what my mom did...I should do the opposite and I did well as far as not yelling a lot, calling names, over punishing or physical punishment which I never even felt compelled to do. I relied on myself and sometimes talked to my BFF who was a lot like me. All my friends were kind, child centered parents.

I relied on doctors for health care. I wasn't a doctor or nurse.

Even if my peers had spanked and yelled and had the attitude "children should be seen and not heard" or "kids aren't as important as adults"....I would never have believed it and could never have done it. To this day I have gentle loving relationships with my four, usually even Bart. And none of them complain about their childhoods. In fact t they all say they had good childhoods.
Makes perfect sense. I loathe many of the old sayings such as, "children should be seen and not heard", or "baby's place is in a crib", as if we moms do nothing but contain our children within a clinical and prison-like environment. Had I been raising children in the 60's, I would have been a trailblazer as far as doing my own thing... outside of the norm for the time, and I would have been proud of it, too.
 

BusynMember

Well-Known Member
I never even heard those sayings. I would have rejected that as foolish and selfish. Babies belong in a crib? Why have one then? How lazy are we?? That's horrible.

My relationship with my four kids is amazing. I screwed up a lot of things, but I really think I was a good parent. My kids all show me a lot of love. Can't ask for more than that!

I never followed trends in anything. I always did what I saw as the right thing to do. Peers never influenced me. I never tried to follow the crowd.
 
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Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
Remember this nursery staple when raising baby? Yuppers, sure do.

Did you have one? Sure did. An excellent manual it was.

If so, do you still have it? Yes. I inherited the one my mom used with me and my siblings, so the one I have is old.

Did you find it helpful? Absolutely. Plenty of great advice and helpful information.

If you never owned a copy of the Dr. Spock Baby Care Book, what did you rely on for reference when it came to the health and care of your children when they were babies? Aside from my Dr. Spock Book, my mom was instrumental when it came to helpful advice and support.
 

AppleCori

Well-Known Member
I might have read it at some point, but I read a lot of other books, too. My mother talked about Spock, so I doubt I put much stock into it. Of course, she may have been talking about Spock from Star Trek, one of her favorite shows.....

I mostly read baby and child development books and how to play with and stimulate them and what activities to introduce at what developmental age range. I found them very helpful and enjoyable.

I remember one called something like ‘how to give your child a superior mind’ and I read a bunch of baby books like ‘Brain Games’ and learning games.

I enjoyed teaching babies and kids and playing with them most off all.

I relied on my pediatrician for baby advice, mostly, and myself. I never thought taking care of babies was difficult, or anything I needed a manual for.

I’m not a rule-follower, for the most part, so raising a child according to someone else’s ideas doesn’t appeal to me.

Apple
 

Pink Elephant

Well-Known Member
It wasn't so much that baby-care manuals were needed per se, but for those wanting or needing a little extra in the way of advice or help, the could count on a trusty manual. :)

By the time my last baby sibling was out of diapers, I pretty much knew my way around all things related to baby-care, however, I still loved my Dr. Spock Baby Book.
 
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