Dr. Benjamin Spock was the most trusted and most famous pediatrician worldwide; his reassuring and commonsense advice shaped parenting practices for half a century. The author of eleven books, he was a political activist for causes that vitally affect children: disarmament, day care, schooling, housing, and medical care for all. Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care has been translated into thirty-nine languages and has sold more than fifty million copies worldwide since its first publication in 1946. Please visit [...] for more information.

Contents

Introduction

1. Anxieties in Our Lives
Can We Ease Our Tensions?

To Work Outside or Not

Late Parenting

Can You Raise Superkids?

Abductors and Molesters

[...] a Father Today

What a Child Needs from a Father

Learning to Be a Father

A Father's Companionship

The Pleasures of Being a Parent

Teaching Sexual Equality

Father and Son Comfort

A Father's Role in Discipline

I Didn't Know How to Be a Stepfather

3.Divorce and the Consequences

Children and Divorce

Can One Parent Be as Good as Two?

Custody Solutions

[...] New Baby

The First Three Months

Crying

Does a Baby Change a Marriage?

Early Parent-Infant Bonding

[...] Problems

Turning Night into Day

Sleep and Separation Anxiety at Two Years

Sleep Problems after Three Years

The Family Bed and Nudity

6.Discipline

Love Is the Basic Ingredient

Lenient versus Strict

Authoritarian versus Democratic

Imposed versus Inner Discipline

My Own Position on Discipline

Punishment

Do You Mean It?

Arguments with Children

Taking Children Out

7.Stages of Childhood

Weaning and Comforters

Criticism of My Ideas on Weaning

More on Comforters

How to Manage One-Year-Olds

How Much Conscience

Creative versus Single-Purpose Playthings

Children's Thoughts on Their Parents

8.Difficult Relationships

When One Child Is Particularly Irritating

Difficult Neighbors

Getting Along with Your Child's Doctor

Judging Your Child's Teacher

9.Several Behavior Problems

Bad Language

Stealing, Lying, and Cheating

Whining

Anxiety about Starting School

10.Influencing Personality and Attitudes

Curiosity, Imagination, and Creativity

Fostering Sociability

Expressing Anger

Teaching Children the Idealism of Sex and Marriage

Pets

God and Religion in the Agnostic Family

Fairy Tales and Other Stories for Children

11.Health and Nutrition

Teaching Good Eating Habits

Infant Diet

Avoiding Feeding Problems

Serious Illness

How to Talk to Children about Sexuality and Love, in General

Index