Complaints about Claire Verity's methods being shown on Channel 4

[morningpaper]

Can I ask what are the nature of the complaints that people are making?

Not sure if this has been posted already but here is the NSPCC definition of Child abuse

'Emotional abuse

This is when adults deny children love or affection, or constantly threaten or humiliate them. Sarcasm, degrading punishments and ignoring a child are also forms of emotional abuse and undermine a child's confidence and sense of self-worth.

Neglect

This is when a child's basic need for love, food, warmth, safety, education and medical attention is not met by parents or carers.'

Surely the methods used where the babies are ignored, not fed when they are hungry, and not given cuddles when they are crying, are basically child abuse.

Daisy Goodwin and a FSID spokeswoman were on the Today programme this morning - you can listen again here www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/today/listenagain/ram/today3_20071002.ram

• it starts around 10 minutes in.

It didn't really address all the issues though - just said that CV was advocating babies should be in a different room rather than babies should be left in a different room to scream and suffer for hours on end on their own

But they did say Ofcom have had over 250 complaints though...

Well done to all of you complaining. I saw this programme last week and felt very sad and angry at the parents using the CV method on their newborn baby.

I also wanted to add that MIL brought up 4 babies in the 1950s and she was outraged by CVs advice. She said no-one she knew was that strict. Yes 4 hours between feeds and babies were put out in the garden for fresh air, but NOT for hours on end. She couldn't believe that CV advocated not cuddling babies/eye contact/holding close when feeding (she BF all of hers btw)/just shoving a dummy in between feeds and otherwise ignoring them/leaving them for 12 hours at night etc etc and she was a relatively strict Mother from what I can gather. Poor baby

ahem... isn't ep 2 on tonight?

g'wan, watch it and the weird male/female dynamic emerge...

I have spoken to the NSPCC this morning. I suggest that as many people as possible ring up and say they want to make a child protection referral about it. They will try and palm you off to their PR department (spoke to them to and it is worth doing so, so that they know that people want action not just a press statment saying 'we dont agree with this'.

This must become more than just a 'PR / media is bad' issue. It must be taken up as a child protection concern, both for the families in the programme and for future babies in contact with Claire Verity.

I have aslo spoken to the Nursing and Midwifery Council about her using a nurse name and uniform, despite being unregistered. Their Standards department was also very concerened and will investigate.

Lastly, I have called the Children's Safeguarding unit at the Department for Children's, Schools and Families, about the fact that 'Maternity Nurses' appear to be unregulated (if she was a childminder you could contact ofsted and have her struck off). They too were very concerned. Their tel no. is 0870 000 2288.

The more people who call to the various bodies, the harder it will be for the 'machine' to not respond.

Looking at the Social Baby website I notice that Channel 4 state that they had the programme viewed by a Paediatrician who felt that the programme was fine. New guidance from the General Medical Council states that Doctors have a duty to report child abuse and neglect.

www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/children_guidance/56_63_child_protection.asp

I am going to try to find out who that paediatrician was and report them to the GMC.

I had a reply from the NSPCC:

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"Thank you for your email regarding Channel four's Bringing up Baby series. The NSPCC will decide how to respond after viewing all four episodes of the show. In the mean time we would like to thank you for bringing the matter to our attention. The protection of children should be a prime consideration for the authorities responsible for regulating the content of the media, particularly the broadcast media who have the greatest breadth of audience. The NSPCC tries to maintain an ongoing and constructive relationship with the media outlets and the watchdogs that monitor them, and our Policy Advisors are keeping this area under review.

It is very important that the added weight of viewers' opinions reaches these the organisations responsible for regulating the media. If you feel strongly about an issue, we would suggest that you contact Ofcom,the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. We have listed their contact details below:

Ofcom
Ofcom Contact Centre
Riverside House
2a Southwark Bridge Road
London
SE1 9HA
Phone: 0845 456 3000
Fax: 020 7981 3333
Email: [email protected]

With regard to methods of bringing up children, the NSPCC believe that a harsh parenting approach and an over-reliance on strict routines are not in the best interests of children. The NSPCC is a supporter of positive parenting techniques. We produce a range of parenting support materials in the form of leaflets and booklets - please see:-
www.nspcc.org.uk/helpandadvice/publications/leaflets/parentingleaflets_wda38357.html

Thank you once again for contacting us."
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