Is it worth raising a child according to the method of Benjamin Spock?

Benjamin Spock, pediatrician: Sometimes a baby can cry so hard that it vomits. Quietly remove the vomit and leave the room.”

"What," you ask, "quietly remove the vomit and leave the room?" Today, many pediatricians consider the principles of education of the reformer Benjamin Spock not only controversial, but also partially harmful, although some 50-60 years ago according to the book. "Child and care" We were raised by our parents and ourselves. And let the method of education by Spock argue to this day, young mothers in different parts of the world with enthusiasm read and absorb every word of the famous pediatrician.





Every parenting principle recommended by Dr. Spock helps to avoid the eternal battles between parents and children and help young mothers believe in their own abilities. “In fact, parents know more than they think, and that knowledge is a good foundation for parenting. The main thing is not to forget about it, said Spock. And this testament of the pediatrician to young parents can rightly be called the main idea of his method of upbringing.

"Site" He will talk about the main ideas of Dr. Benjamin Spock and try to understand whether modern claims to the theory of education of a famous pediatrician are justified.

In the 50s of the last century, it was the voice of Dr. Spock that instilled in mothers the confidence that they know for sure that they are raising their child correctly, and can even enjoy the process. The book “Child and care for him”, published on July 14, 1946, opened a new era in the difficult science of education, and the volume of its sales was second only to the Bible.

Benjamin Spock offered American mothers a set of basic guidelines for childcare: how to feed, treat, bathe, nurture. The doctor argued that the treatment of the child should be guided by common sense, observing the harmony between excessive tenderness and excessive severity.

1. Parents are people too.
   That's right. Dr. Spock.Most childcare books are devoted exclusively to the child, while their parents are not paid attention at all. Reading such literature, new parents are immediately faced with the idea that motherhood and fatherhood are the end, everything, finita la comedia. Benjamin Spock said that you should not sacrifice yourself to a baby, giving him all his free time and energy. In the end, it will make both the mother and the child unhappy.
   
   
   
   
   
   A young mother has every right to feel negative feelings towards the child, for example, to be angry with him, and has the same right not to worry about being a bad mother.
   
   Life after the birth of a child, according to Spock, should be rich and full, because parents are also people who have so much to do: become a successful father and mother, raising a healthy and intelligent baby, realize themselves professionally and not let the family hearth fade away.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Don't be afraid to love
   “A child is born to become a rational and good human being. Don’t be afraid to love it and enjoy it. It is vital for every child to be fondled, smiled, loved, and tenderly cared for. – Benjamin Spock Scientists have proven that adults need tactile intimacy as much as food and drink. And the baby, too much!
   
   
   
   Modern young parents are afraid to spoil the baby with physical contact, forgetting that this is the best way to show love. Do not be afraid to take the baby in your arms, caress and pamper him, mess with him and babysit him. Only by investing your love, care, affection and honesty in the child, you can get worthy fruits.
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3. Follow the feeding regimen.
   “Regime is necessary for the benefit of the child, on the one hand, and for the convenience of the parents, on the other. The regime saves your time and effort. Flexible mode means reducing the number of feedings to reasonable at more or less certain hours and stopping night feedings as soon as the child is ready for it. Otherwise, parents will be too tired to give the child more than just food. Since there is no need to adhere to a strict regimen, you will be able to first obey the child’s requirements, and then gradually establish a regimen that is convenient for both you and him.
   
   , Spock explained.
   
   
   
4. Don't spoil babies
   Spock advised mothers to pay attention to infant crying, take babies in their arms, soothe and try to figure out what was wrong. At the same time, the pediatrician believed that carrying a baby older than three months would lead to the fact that the baby simply spoiled: “If the mother always readily takes the child in her arms as soon as he cries, then in two months he can ask for his arms almost all the time until he sleeps.”
   
   
   
   If the mother continues to give in, after a while the child will realize that his poor, tormented mother is under his heel, and will tyranny her by demanding that he be constantly carried in his arms.” Modern psychologists and pediatricians disagree with this view. If a child asks for arms, he needs emotional contact with his mother. And the lack of such contacts in childhood is fraught with the fact that the child will grow up closed and insecure.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Let the child be himself.
   “Raise children in love and you will not have to resort to punishment!” – Spock Another important way to show love to a child is to respect his desires. If the child does not want to sleep during the day, do not force him. He doesn't want to finish his porridge? Don't convince him to eat every last spoon. The desires of children are very natural and intuitive, but do not confuse reasonable desires with banal whims. “Don’t be afraid to fulfill your child’s wishes if they seem reasonable to you and don’t make you his slave.” – Dr. Spock At one time, for the propaganda of such views, doctors were accused of pandering to permissiveness: it was she, according to many pediatricians and psychologists of the time, who gave birth to a generation of people who had forgotten how to respect their elders.
   
   
   
   
   

Why is the venerable doctor being criticized? Try not to approach your child as soon as he starts crying. Give him a chance to calm down on his own. Sometimes a baby can cry so hard that it vomits. Quietly remove the vomiting and leave the room. In fact, Spock had a very good goal: to give new parents a chance to survive in a completely new environment.

Spock Education He believes that raising children is not a yoke, and one should not put one’s life on the altar of serving the infant. The child is an inexhaustible source of energy that can help parents solve all the problems of his upbringing and moral education of themselves.

What parenting principles do you follow? Be sure to share with us in the comments.