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."

i knew her (not well) when she was at cambridge....
she was shallow / simpering / self serving (and ruthlessly ambitious) then.....
some people change..... (and some dont)

And I'm stunned he has a zero return on PubMed Tamum

Actually his answers to the questions on the Channel 4 page are rather humane and thoughtful. I take it back (ish).

Message withdrawn

Well you know LL, I guess I remember him from some kind of loose connection to the medical action group I once worked for, which would have put him on the side of the angels. So I am very surprised indeed he's associated himself with CV

That would figure, Marina. It would be interesting to know his actual views, as opposed to just clearing the program for release.

Do you think Daisy Goodwin honestly thinks the fuss is because people are anti-routine or is she being disingenuous?

Question 8 on that Channel 4 page is interesting.

Very odd, isn't it ll- he sounds marvellous, so why did he want to be associated with approval for this program?

I find it really strange that he would be able to 'pass' CV's methods, given the views he appears to hold.

this is one of the q and a's from dr m on the linked site.....

As a doctor what do you think to Claire Verity's methods? Do you think it is healthy to ignore a newborns needs?
Lisa (Leicester)

Harvey Marcovitch: I'm a dyed-in-the-wool Spockite, my own children having been reared in the seventies according to his methods. The advice I have given to families over the years was based on a mixture of Dr Spock's advice and what I learned since from scientific studies and from mothers and babies I have talked with in my clinics. Rearing babies can be delightful but it can be very hard work, exhausting, and even heartbreaking from time to time. Luckily, they grow up and things get easier. My personal view is that while I understand why some parents feel a need to keep their life as unchanged as possible, I think they are acting in their own interests, not the baby's. As a paediatrician I am on the baby's side. But, then I'm a man from a generation in which women did nearly all the childcare.

so now i'm confused.... the "expert adviser" considers that following cv's advice is serving the parents' interests but not the baby's...... and yet she cv is able to pedal her views and methods on the programme as being in the baby's interests without any editorial comment that her views are not shared by the expert???????

oh daisy, daisy, daisy.
you really should be ashamed of yourself.

oops. bit slow off the mark there

Message withdrawn

Message withdrawn

MadameP 'Do you think Daisy Goodwin honestly thinks the fuss is because people are anti-routine or is she being disingenuous?'

Well what do you think?

Speaking personally, as she clearly is not a stupid woman, it looks to me as if she is being deeply disingenuous and trying to drum up more commissions for her nascent production company.

But I'm probably just a very cynical person

how much do you bet the lovely daisy is lurking on here..... evesdropping on our self righteous fundamentalist views.......

waves to daisy...... hi there!

stick to poetry love (or getting paid for sticking together other peoples poetry together).

bet her mn name will be.......

darlingdaisy......or

clairesfriend........or

routinesareveryverygood........or

noanimalswereharmedinthemakingofthisprogrammeandnobabieseitheraccordingtoourexperts(sortof)........ ..

Harvey Marcovitch was a full-time NHS consultant paediatrician until 2001 and latterly honorary senior clinical lecturer at the University of Oxford. From its foundation until 2006, he was a Council member and external relations adviser of the Royal College of Paediatrics & Child Health.

He is an associate member of the General Medical Council, for whom he chairs Fitness to Practice Panels.

Have a read of the GMC's own guidance....
www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/children_guidance/endnotes.asp#25

and he chairs the Fitness to practice panels???? Can he not recognise the emotional abuse in the programme????

his responses to lowering th erisk of cot death are interesting though. All the usual things about not smoking, baby not being too hot etc, but on the subject of room sharing all it says is that "Some experts advise a baby should spend the first six months sleeping in a cot in the parents' room" - not 'government guidelines advise' - just some experts

but funnily enough on the subject of solids the advice is "UK Department of Health, advised by experts".

The two things give a very different impression.

No, anyone can read anything except profiles.

has everyone seen this
looks like GF is pretty appalled too. so boo sucks to daisy who thinks its is just a routine versus let it all hang out debate.

from the observer today