| The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care | |
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| Author(s) | Benjamin Spock |
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Subject(s) | Child care |
| Publisher | Duell, Sloan and Pearce (New York City) |
| Publication date | July 14, 1946 |
| Pages | 527 (1st edition) |
| OCLC Number | 654127882 |
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care written by Benjamin Spock, is a book on infant and child care first published in 1946. The book "challenged the child-rearing orthodoxy of the early 20th century—that babies should be fed according to a tight schedule, and that showing them too much affection made them weak and unprepared for the world. Instead, Dr. Spock encouraged a more gentle approach to bringing up children, and told parents to trust their own instincts and common sense."[1]
For the book's fifth and sixth editions, Spock co-wrote the book with pediatrician Michael B. Rothenberg; for the 7th edition, his co-author was Steven Parker.
| “ | Donald Geddes, a former editor at Pocket Books, made the sales pitch of his life in 1943. Badgering a reluctant pediatrician who felt that he lacked the knowledge to attempt a book on babies, Geddes tried a bit of psychological judo. At 25 cents a copy, he declared, a baby book was bound to sell briskly no matter what it said. So, he concluded, "the book we want doesn't have to be very good." "That hit the spot," recalls Benjamin Spock, 42 years and 30 million copies later. "The fact that he didn't say, 'We want the best damned book in the world'—I figured, Why not take a try?" | ” |
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—Time magazine (April 1985)[2] |
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Contents |
Baby and Child Care sold 500,000 copies in its first six months; within a decade it was selling a million copies a year.[1] By 1985, the book had sold 30 million copies;[2] by 1998, it had sold more than 50 million.[3] One source places the book as the seventh best-selling book of all time.[4] As of 2011, Baby and Child Care has been translated into 39 languages.[1]
The 1968 edition included a "completely new section in the first chapter. Spock argues that 'we need idealistic children' so that, as adults, they can confront the 'enormous, frightening problems in our country and in the world.' 'We have an overwhelming supply of the most powerful weapons the world has ever known,' yet 'we are in imminent danger of annihilation.' Because of our power, 'we are interfering arrogantly in the affairs of other nations and arousing worldwide resentment. 'Our only realistic hope,' Spock concludes, 'is to bring up our children with a feeling that they are in this world not for their own satisfaction but primarily to serve others.'"[5]
At least one piece of advice from Baby and Child Care was discredited decades after it was first published. Spock recommended putting babies to sleep on their stomachs in order to reduce the risk of infants choking on their own vomit; by the 1990s, that practice was linked to sudden infant death syndrome.[1]
During Spock's lifetime there were seven editions:[6] the 3rd edition of Baby and Child Care was published in 1968; it was following by a 4th in 1976. The fifth and sixth editions, in 1985 and 1992, featured a co-author, Dr. Michael B. Rothenberg. The 7th edition was co-authored with pediatrician Steven Parker and published in 1998.[6]
A 1996 New Yorker article called the series of editions of Baby and Child Care a "record of a half century of quintessentially American optimism and panic about the fate of the family" and noting in particular that the "'child-centered' first edition became a parent-focused second edition."[6]
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