Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Did you know?

Okay, so I am probably going to bring a lot of conflict upon myself here, but I have to get this off my chest. Say you were looking for a book on how you care for you new baby. You find one that seems to make sense to you, and appeals to you as a parent. What if you later found out that the author:
- has no background or education in child development.
- resigned from the church where he was a staff member after that church asked him to alter some of the information present in his books, and for lying on his resume (paraphrased- see this timeline for more info).
- was excommunicated by LHEF (Living Hope Evangelical Fellowship)- the next church he attended.
- is estranged from his own adult daughters (by their own choice).

What if the book:
- Is now published independently, after going through several publishers and calls to halt publication.
- Has been publicly criticized by not only the AAP, but by Christianity Today (among many other publications), and numerous breastfeeding groups.

Who is the author? Gary Ezzo.
What's the book? Babywise.

Let's discuss.

4 comments:

Jenny said...

Oh, I thought you were going to say the Pearls. I haven't read either one and don't care to. Right now I am in the middle of several books, one of which is Raising Our Children, Raising Ourselves. It's based upon the (unfortunately revolutionary) idea that children should be treated as our equals. I've found the first 2-3 chapters to be so helpful.

Have you heard of the Gentle Christian Mothers forum? I really like it!

http://gentlechristianmothers.com/

Emily said...

nah, I'll save the Pearls for a whole 'nother post ;-)
It seems as though Babywise is experiencing a new popularity boom as of late- many more of my friends are familiar with it than To Train Up a Child. Plus, Babywise (to my knowledge) doesn't advocate physical discipline to the same extent as TTUAC, so it's more innocuous. I will have to check out that forum- i generally frequent the "mothering" forums.

Jenny said...

It does seem like Babywise is a lot more accepted, because it's not just far-and-away NUTS like the Pearls' book. I know people--good parents--who do Babywise and I really don't know what to say when they bring it up. I mean, having already spouted off my own parenting philosophy and all. I keep having to remind myself that all I can do is my best raising *my* kids. It does bother me, though.

I like the Mothering forums too. Sometimes I just go through and read them and find what I need without having to post anything.

Emily said...

I should also add that I haven't read TTUAC myself, and I'm told by a very reliable source that what they say in the book is not the same as what is advocated on the website (as far as physical discipline goes).