I give you clear warning, this place is goiing to go NUTS when Channel Four airs Bringing Up Baby on the 25th Sept... Claire Verity!!!

[Aitch]

seriously. i'm watching it now for work and it is terribly upsetting. Claire Verity says 'i'm a bitch, i'm mean to them but it works', no touching, no eye contact, lots of talking about 'baby', presumably because she can't be arsed remembering the name... oh it's AWFUL.

one of them is excessively gorgeous, i think. a wee blonde ball of baby, absolutely scrummy. i don't actually know who's baby she is, mind. i've got ep 2 here now... will i watch it and put my blood pressure up?

Sorry.. not disgusting "appalling" !!

"They look appalling – and they are appalling. I just loathe them."

appalling

the baldy baby at the end. ooooooo. those floppy limbs. the wee grunts.

really? the onewith the dummy in his mouth? nope, that one does nothing for me. anyway, when are you moving expat?

I don't like judging programmes before they air but I really don't think I will be able to handle this one. My DS2 is autistic and when I think how hard it has been to get eye contact, to get hugs and kisses and the HUGE comfort and security he has gained by being able to interact on this intimate, loving level....
...a child who does not need you beyond functionality.... Be careful what you wish for.

I think it's a shame they've chosen someone so extreme - I know it's for tv and all but it would actually be interesting to see someone sensible take the attachment parenting approach, someone sensible take the routine approach and someone in the middle.

Routine doesn't have to mean no cuddles, surely?

I didn't do routine myself (too disorganised) but it's weird that it polarises into attachment parenting (all lovely and cuddly) and routine (horrible beastly matrons showing no tenderness).

Now my daughter is older, I find she does like her routine so I can well imagine that a routine-based day might suit a younger baby too but why does it have to be such a tough regime?

oh dear, pagwatch, that's true. oh dear oh dear..

the removal company arrives the 26th, aitch .

it was a baldy baby propped up on a pillow that did it for me. awwwwww.

dd2 was like that.

now she's a wee radge.

well she'll have to be a wee bam if you're going west coast...

I think, if I read the Times article correctly, that there will actually be 3 "experts" on the show - her for strict routine, Clare someone else representing AP and another middle of the roader.

i agree with claire verity on one thing.

if you don't want babies to change your lifestyle and come into your bedroom, get a cat.

Message withdrawn

A friend of mine knew CV in real life and she 'sorted out' her PFB and had her into a 'routine' at 7 weeks. Although she slept at night, she was a terribly demanding baby. The child is now approaching double figures and is terribly attention seeking. Are the 2 factors related...? With her 2nd child, my friend decided there was no way she should do it again.

correct, barbamama.

By Aitch on Sat 15-Sep-07 22:56:24
it's a face-off between Truby king's methods (claire verity as mentor) and dr spock and continuum methods (with other mentors). utterly bogus and you've got to ask why the hell parents would sign up for this. the other two seem reasonable enough.

funnily enough, kiski, one of the other mentors says that to her. CV actually believes that the child should fit into the parents' lives and not change it.

what did she think of her in the end, fmv? did she regret having her 'sort out' the pfb?

I am surprised they are still airing it. I complained to Junior Magazine (Guilty secret reading), because they quoted her as an 'expert' in one of their articles. Never got a reply.

I think she is the nadir of 'parenting' gurus. I suspect she is one of the reasons that wonderful Tanya is giving the whole thing up.

Pruners that is interesting I was discussing similar methods with a couple of psychtherapist friends and they were also appalled, saying it is totally contrary to our knowledge of mental health and infant brain development

bad innit

speaking of terribly attention seeking, CV strikes me as the same.

LOL. She opened a cafe in our town and called in Chocolat. She 'borrowed' a friend's photogenic child for the publicity shots in the local press ...

The cafe didn't last long.

Suffice it to say, my friend who got her help for free, didnt use the advised techniques for her second child...
My friend said she was grateful for her PFB sleeping through so early. But she said it just felt cruel and horrible. She was under a lot fo pressure from her dh at the time and his was at his behest that she went through with it at all.

This is the Times piece: women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/families/article2490406.ece

Think the blog she refers to is the Children's Project (Social Baby) one, not NCT. Geez, this woman is so badly informed, it might be laughable if she wasn't getting such massive exposure with her hideous ideas.

I would LOVE to have heckled this woman at the babby show.

weird thing is, you know, i'm sure my dd slept through (ie, for at least an eight-hour stretch at night) from about six weeks anyway. and she always slept loads during the day too. i suspect if i have a second child i will be punished severely.