   
| | | | |  Dr. Benjamin Spock, 1903-1998
His life covered most of the last century. His influence will reach far into the
next. He was, and will always be, a man for all children.
The man who would become, somewhat to his own astonishment, the most trusted
pediatrician and best-selling author of all time was born in New Haven, Connecticut,
on May 2, 1903. As the eldest of six children, Benjamin McLane Spock was immersed in
the world of childcare at an early age, helping to change diapers, babysit, feed, and
otherwise attend to his siblings. His parents, a prominent lawyer and a devoted mother,
ran a strict household and harbored high expectations for their offspring.
Benjamin Spock readily absorbed these standards, attending Phillips Academy in
Andover, Massachusetts, and then Yale University, like his father before him. At
Yale, Spock studied literature and history and excelled in athletics, even earning
a spot on the Olympic rowing crew that won a gold medal at the 1924 games. He attended
the Yale School of Medicine for two years and then transferred to Columbia University's
College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, where he graduated first in his class
in 1929. By that time, he had married Jane Cheney and soon had two sons, Michael and John.
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While specializing in pediatrics, Spock realized that he could best help his young
patients and their parents if he gained a greater understanding of their psychological
needs and family dynamics. With the dedication and intensity that marked his every endeavor,
he studied psychoanalysis for six years, making him the only practicing pediatrician of his
time with this combination of training. The more he talked with parents and studied the
psychological and emotional aspects of childhood, the more convinced he became that much
of the prevailing wisdom of the day was flawed. And, in 1946, he was given the chance to
publish his iconoclastic views in The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care,
a tome he penned for Pocket Books that initially sold for a modest 25 cents. | | During Spock's long lifetime, his book would be translated into
39 languages and sell more than 50 million copies, making it second in sales
only to the Bible. |
Spock's ideas have become such a part and parcel of the parenting landscape that
it's easy to forget how revolutionary they were. In post-war America, parents were
in awe of doctors and other childcare professionals; Spock assured them that parents
were the true experts on their own children. They had been told that picking up infants
when they cried would only spoil them; Spock countered that cuddling babies and bestowing
affection on children would only make them happier and more secure. Instead of adhering to
strict, one-size-fits-all dictates on everything from discipline to toilet training, Spock
urged parents to be flexible and see their children as individuals.
Perhaps most revolutionary of all, he suggested that parenting could be fun, that
mothers and fathers could actually enjoy their children and steer a course in which
their own needs and wishes also were met. All this and much more, including a wealth
of helpful medical advice, was delivered in a friendly, reassuring, and common-sense
manner completely at odds with the cold authoritarianism favored by most other parenting
books of the time.
With characteristic modesty, Spock never would have predicted the overwhelming
success that Baby and Child Care would come to enjoy. He once admitted that
if he had known that his editors were entrusting him with producing the most influential
parenting book ever written, he would have replied, "I don't know enough." As it turned
out, he knew plenty--Baby and Child Care was an instant success with parents and
struck a chord with other progressive doctors and childcare practitioners. During Spock's
long lifetime, the book would go through seven editions, be translated into 39 languages,
and sell more than 50 million copies, making it second in sales only to the Bible.
As his celebrity grew in the '50s and '60s, Spock worked feverishly on behalf of children
and parents. He taught child development at Western Reserve University (now Case Western)
in Cleveland, Ohio, for 12 years, wrote many other books on childcare, and lectured around
the world. He even had a television program devoted to the concerns of families. Dr. Spock
had become a household name.
As the Cold War escalated and American troops were sent to Vietnam, he became a vocal
political activist, speaking out for disarmament and against the war in Southeast Asia.
To Spock, this was just another way of protecting the young people to whom he was so
devoted. His political views made him unpopular in some circles and hurt the sales of
Baby and Child Care, but he persisted, convinced that politics was an essential
part of pediatrics. He participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations well into his 80s
and 90s, and ran for President on a third-party ticket in 1972, speaking out on issues
concerning working families, children, and minorities.
In 1976, he married his second wife, Mary Morgan, who became a valued collaborator.
They traveled the country, lecturing and writing, and co-authored the memoir
Spock on Spock in 1985. A man who witnessed the birth of the automobile as well
as the Internet, Spock prided himself in keeping up with the times, a fact that's
reflected in the many revisions of Baby and Child Care in which he incorporated
the latest medical developments and dealt with emerging social issues such as working
mothers, daycare centers, and single parenthood. Throughout his life, Spock remained a
tireless and courageous advocate for children and families, and his legacy will remain
a source of knowledge and inspiration for parents for generations to come. |
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