[sugarloafbaby]

I finally borrowed the book "Babywise" after having it recommended to me by over 5 different people. I know all about this book and how controversial it is, and since we lean more towards attachment parenting, I had no desire to read it. But curiosity got the best of me and I started reading it last night. I figured it would help me form a better opinion on it. Right off the bat, I was extremely surprised how hostile it was towards attachment parenting as well as the La Leche League! I felt that it was really ridiculous how many assumptions were made towards AP as well, like stating that AP families have unstable marriages and family structure and that they all cosleep and breastfeed for at least 2 years and that children have unhealthy sleep and eating patterns. All of this makes me very close-minded to the rest of the book. I also don't like how the author(s) don't seem to have much experience to back up what they say like Dr. Sears does.

Anyways, I just was wondering what others thought about this book if they have read it.If you disagree and think the system is bad advice in general, how do you respond when people praise this book like it's their Bible?

[miamor]

i gotta be honest, while i was pregnant, a coworker of husband's recommended it so i read it. said him and his wife used it and their baby slept through the night at 5 months, yadda yadda...i had no idea at the time what my parenting style would be, so i was open minded to it. after having my son, however, i followed my instincts and nothing about that book was instinctual. its all very calculated and it really does fall into what most people do with their kids and what parents think a baby's role should be...to just fall in line with the type of life they had before the baby and not interfere.
i'm not defending anyone, but i think people fall into the pressures of their families and what society expects them to do with their baby and how their baby should act. in my heart, it just felt right to follow more of an attachment parenting philosophy and i feel very secure about what i'm doing. babywise was not for us.

[meags]

I had read Babywise and written a report on it while in college but then was given another copy when I was pregnant from a well meaning relative. I actually didn't even open it until DS was almost 6 months old because I knew from before that it wasn't for us. However, once I skimmed through it again I agree that it's very hostile towards anything AP.

I really feel sorry for parents, and more importantly their children, who subscribe to the ways of Babywise. I'm sure most of them are doing it with the best of intentions. The book does make it sound like you will end up doing serious long term damage to your child if you don't follow their ways. Very sad

[Jule'sMomInOR]

I have never read it. I'm amazed that it would suggest AP parents have unstable marriages! I have heard that it recommends letting a 2 m/o cry for up to an hour, which to me sounds like child abuse. I think if I found a copy at a garage sale I would buy it just so I could take it out of circulation and burn it.

[BigGrin]

breastfeed for at least 2 years

Because only nutjobs would follow the recommendation of the W.H.O.

[sugarloafbaby]

Originally Posted by BigGrin

Because only nutjobs would follow the recommendation of the W.H.O.

for real!

[stargatemommy]

I have about 3 copies of it from my baby shower.... I have not even opened them, because I know I don't agree with the stuff inside. I would sell them to recoup the money, but I don't want to encourage anyone to chose this method.... So they are just sitting in my closet.

[joonzgurl]

Originally Posted by jule'smominor

i think if i found a copy at a garage sale i would buy it just so i could take it out of circulation and burn it.

hhahahahaha!

[DaniB+3]

I have heard that it recommends letting a 2 m/o cry for up to an hour, which to me sounds like child abuse.

Wow, that makes me so sad .

[NatureLovinMama]

Never have and never will read that book, I have only heard atrocious things about it except from people who do CIO and I don't agree with that at all, so.. The book is not for me or my family.

[Purrrrrrr]

My SIL swears by this book. Now, she has triplets, 3 boys, who were very preemie and were formula-fed. From what I understand about this book, it's not written by pediatricians or even people in the childcare field and it doesn't work for BFing mommas. My LC told me to steer clear of it with Gabe's weight-gain problems because they advocate no night feeds and he's so active during the day, he need them to help him gain weight. I think people need to be warned of that if they want to follow this book's advice.

[Quantum_Leap]

Someone gave me this book when Charlie was about two months old, I can't remember who. I think that maybe my dad picked it up for me at a garage sale, not really knowing what it was. Charlie was always a high-needs baby and a terrible sleeper, nursing all throughout the night well into his second year. Anyway, the first time I read this book I cried, thinking that I was doing long-term damage to his IQ and his metabolism and blah blah blah by not 'forcing' him to have a better sleep pattern. Then, in my panic I started looking up stuff about the book on the internet, and realized that it was a load of crock. What a misleading title. There is nothing 'baby-wise' at all about the book, as I'm sure probably any baby who has been subjected to its methods would tell you.

Originally Posted by sugarloafbaby

Anyways, I just was wondering what others thought about this book if they have read it.If you disagree and think the system is bad advice in general, how do you respond when people praise this book like it's their Bible?

Actually, I think that the authors of the book DO claim to have based their methods on the Bible. That's part of the problem with the series, is that the authors don't really have any pediatric expertise, they're pastors who claim to have found the foundation for their parenting methods in the Scriptures. Here's some info about it: Babywise and Theology: Is the Ezzo Method Biblical? | Theological Thoughts I personally find it troubling, both from a parenting perspective and from a religious one.

[shanirah]

I had never heard of this book but just reading the link posted above and what you ladies are saying, I hope I don't get it for my baby shower.