Daisy Goodwin: Mumsnetters are "the self-righteous childcare fundamentalists of the internet."

[morningpaper]

You'll like this one.

Daisy Goodwin writes in the Times :

"As one Mumsnet post puts it: ?Watching Claire Verity abuse other people?s babies in the name of ?routine? makes my blood boil. She should be prosecuted under child protection laws, it?s disgusting.? As responsible programme-makers we observed due diligence on this for Bringing Up Baby and there is absolutely no scientific evidence that following a routine in infancy has any deleterious effect on the psychological health of the child... But this is heresy to the self-right-eous childcare fundamentalists of the internet who loathe Verity so much that she has been spat at in the street and received death threats."

How does she know that the people who have spat at CV and sent her death threats are amongst the "self-righteous childcare fundamentalists of the internet"?? They might just be people who watch television. Or does she know something that we don't?

It's horrid when someone you like turns out to have feet of lucre isn't it
I only knew her as a third-rate TV literary figure before all this, tbh

lol good point Freckle!

Perhaps they had their norks out and their faces obscured by ring slings, Freckle...

Freckle that is just what I was thinking - and I tell you what, they are talking rubbish about only middle class mothers on Mumsnet caring about this - unlike the GF thing and all the other issues this is the first and only one that I have heard almost as much about in RL as I have here. I have been astounded at the number of (unprompted from me) comments I have got from people about CV and Bringing Up Baby - from my Mother to the staff at my sons Nursery to the lady in the corner shop! All of them negative and many of them from people who have never been near the internet in their lives.

due diligence due schmiligence

Ooooh 'Silver River' is HER production company

Am seriously pissing myself at that link- Go Gina!!

'Quote of the week' contender there, Snaf.

'Silver River' golden shower more like.

technique works best? For what? Seems all they want is for the baby to sleep and be predictable. Weird!

'Silver River' golden shower more like.

I linked to DG's interview on the Today programme on the other thread. Here's the bits I thought you'd be interested in:

'We showed the finished programmes to Dr Harvey Marcowitz, paediatrician of 20 years' standing, lecturer at Oxford university and he was very happy for the programmes to go out as is.'

(nb I have looked him up on the Oxford Uni website and he is not listed as a member of faculty)

Interviewer: I was wondering whether you were comfortable that a programme that you were responsible for was giving out advice which, when you look at the statistics ..^

DG: I have two children myself and certainly wouldn't make a programme which I felt in any way put children's lives at risk. Of course I wouldn't. And I have to say that that's why we took medical advice all the way through the programme.

Interviewer: Was there one that came out top as far as you are concerned?

DG: As far as I'm personally concerned, I'm one for having the baby with you at all times but if I had to go back to work at six weeks, I'd say try and establish a routine. I would say as a mother, only you know what's best for your baby.

So - as a mother, only you know what's best for your baby, unless of course you're going to appear on one of my TV programmes in which case you have no say in what happens.

Daisy Goodwin, you're a total hypocrite. I really, really hope you're bloody ashamed of yourself.

PMSL @sheherazade. Literally

Gosh, I don't think I've ever seen Marina so (always so eloquently done though )

Yes, I agree it would be just so convenient for ms G to think that its just us lot having a go at CV, it IS every mother I know who are upset by her, no internet needed, its how most humans feel watching helpless little one's scream their lungs out....

Ooo and I can't wait to put her book on my xmas list

Obviously it would be lovely if we could all email daisy to tell her what we think of her. Her email address is [email protected]

(freely available info on her website where she is simpering away, looking like butter wouldn't melt)

Funnily enough there is no-one called Marcowitz on the whole of Pubmed (all medical and biological articles in print). Quite unusual for someone to lecture at Oxford without ever having published anything

If anything it is CV (as portrayed by this programme) that is the fundamentalist. This routine it would appear must not be disrupted under any circumstances.

Really tamum? I'm shocked.

even heavier sarcasm

The only Markowitz I can find on Google (never mind PubMed) who seems to have any relevance did work on zoo animals.

Hang on... I reckon we've found our guy! (Not really, wrong first name.) She's made him up, hasn't she?

When I hear the name Dr Harvey Marcowitz, why do I think of the strangely-bearded psychologist in The Simpsons?

I've tried with other spellings too- I don't think he exists is particularly eminent.

That name does ring a bell though...why I wonder. Marcowicz perhaps?