Would we be happier if all we had was Dr Spock?

[garliclover]

My mother and MIL are always saying how parenting was easier in their day, because they didn't suffer from information overload, and if they needed any guidance, they'd turn to their Dr Spock book. I'm thinking they have a point. All the baby whisperers, advocates of unconditional parenting, attachment parenting, all the grow-your-own-veg lot, whatever -- doesn't it all just drive you nuts? Sometimes I feel tempted to throw everything out (including the laptop) and just keep Dr Spock (the updated version of course). But then I get cold feet.
So what do you think?

I was a Spock baby (1961 vintage). DB and I survived somehow. We got left outside shops in our prams and everything too! .

Aged Mama still swore by her ragged copy of Dr Spock's "Baby and Childcare" when DS was born 15 years ago. It's mostly just comon sense. In her day, "parent" was an adjective, not a verb.

Vulcan child care ?

But what did they all do before Dr Spock? Same as me probably, make it up as we go along

Noun surely?

don't think Spock was in favour of leaving babies outside shops was he? I thought he was the liberal answer to Truby King

personally I favour Penelope Leach- child-centred common sense

Have never owned a parenting book and have never read Dr Spock either. If I'm in two minds I ask my mum... So far, so good. Have a relative that read so many books pre-birth she was paralysed with fear about what to do when the baby actually arrived. Bit of an extreme example but no, I don't think they're very helpful a lot of the time. We don't read endless books telling us how to drive a car properly.... we get good at by having someone show us the basics, then by practising, making mistakes etc..

The thing is there are a lot of perfectly effective and legitimate ways to bring up children. If we all had to operate from the same template, those who felt inclined to deviate from the norm would feel alienated and be constantly told they were doing it "wrong".

I much preferred Illingworth and Illingworth; which predated Spock, and was essentially the first post-war baby book.

Dr Spock wasn't the only baby book on offer in the sixties, anyone can make a choice about whether to read one, all or none of the ones on offer today.