Bringing Up Baby (TV programme)
Encyclopedia
Bringing Up Baby is a four-part British
television documentary series which compares three different childcare methods for babies: the Truby King
method (a strict, routine-based method from the 1950s), the Benjamin Spock
approach (a more relaxed approach based on parents' instincts, popular in the 1960s), and the Continuum concept
(in which babies are in constant contact with a parent at all times, based on tribal child-rearing methods and popular in the 1970s). Each method was advocated and administered by a nanny for two families each. The series was controversial when it aired on Channel 4
in 2007, particularly due to the actions recommended by Truby King advocate Claire Verity
, and questions over Verity's qualifications.
espoused a routine popular in the 1950s, based on the 1907 book Feeding And Care Of Babies by Truby King
: that babies should follow a strict routine from the day they are born, and that parents should dictate this routine, not the other way round. This included a rigid timetable with feeds every four hours, a separate room from the parents from day one, and rules forbidding "unnecessary contact" especially when the babies woke during the night. Verity also recommended that the babies spend several hours per day outside, saying that the fresh air helped them to sleep better.
Despite considerable controversy over the 1950s method, it appeared to have been the most effective in getting the babies to "sleep through the night" earlier and more regularly than the other children in the study.
in his best-selling book The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
. The Spock method encouraged parents to use their instincts to detect a child's needs. Sarah Fox, one of the mothers using Spock's method admitted that her son Leon did not sleep as well as she would have liked, but the closer bond between them made following Spock worthwhile.
, developed from a study of South American Indians by anthropologist Jean Liedloff
. The Continuum concept recommends constant skin-to-skin contact between the baby and its parents until it is twelve months old. The child sleeps in the same bed as the parents, and is carried around in a sling during the day. Grace Collins, who raised her son Oliver using the concept, also praised the bond this method built up between the child and parents, was not too inconvenient and had a positive effect on Oliver's development.
received 752 complaints about Bringing Up Baby, and conducted an investigation which cleared the programme of breaching the broadcasting code. Ofcom found that although some of the techniques portrayed in the series were controversial, they were in presented in an appropriate context, and the audience was properly informed of the benefits and disadvantages of each. It determined that Channel 4 had taken due care to ensure the health and wellbeing of the children used as subjects in the experiment, and that the families involved had given clear consent and were free to discontinue their involvement at any time during the filming.
Childcare expert Gina Ford
strongly criticised Verity's methods in a letter to the NSPCC
, urging them to take steps to ensure that television production companies not continue this form of "child abuse
".
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) released a statement on its website, expressing concern over Verity's recommendation that a baby sleep in a separate room from its parents from the day it was born. The FSID stated that "Advice on the programme that a baby should sleep in its own bedroom from day one has, in fact, been found to double the risk of cot death."
In addition, questions arose over Verity's qualifications as a maternity nurse. Channel 4 had issued a press release listing a number of qualifications Verity claimed to hold. When The Times
newspaper requested a list from Verity's agent, it found the lists differed. Verity claimed to hold diplomas in child daycare and pre-school practice from ASET
, qualifications in maternity practice, sleep training and paediatrics from Maternity Nurse Training, and a diploma in childcare from Goal. All three organisations confirmed that they had no record of granting such qualifications to Verity, and Channel 4 conducted an investigation into the claims.
When the series aired in Australia on the ABC1
network in 2009, complaints to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
regarding the controversies in the UK prompted the ABC to broadcast a disclaimer before the second and subsequent episodes of the series:
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television documentary series which compares three different childcare methods for babies: the Truby King
Truby King
thumb|Sir Frederic Truby KingSir Frederic Truby King CMG , generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society....
method (a strict, routine-based method from the 1950s), the Benjamin Spock
Benjamin Spock
Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
approach (a more relaxed approach based on parents' instincts, popular in the 1960s), and the Continuum concept
Continuum concept
The continuum concept is an idea relating to human development proposed by Jean Liedloff in her 1975 book The Continuum Concept. According to Liedloff, in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings—especially babies—require the kind of experience to which...
(in which babies are in constant contact with a parent at all times, based on tribal child-rearing methods and popular in the 1970s). Each method was advocated and administered by a nanny for two families each. The series was controversial when it aired on Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
in 2007, particularly due to the actions recommended by Truby King advocate Claire Verity
Claire Verity
Claire Verity is a British baby care professional who specialises in the Truby King method. Her clients have included Jerry Hall and Sting. She featured as a mentor in the 2007 Channel 4 documentary series, Bringing Up Baby .Her methods, such as advocating Truby King's tenets of...
, and questions over Verity's qualifications.
The Truby King method
Mentor Claire VerityClaire Verity
Claire Verity is a British baby care professional who specialises in the Truby King method. Her clients have included Jerry Hall and Sting. She featured as a mentor in the 2007 Channel 4 documentary series, Bringing Up Baby .Her methods, such as advocating Truby King's tenets of...
espoused a routine popular in the 1950s, based on the 1907 book Feeding And Care Of Babies by Truby King
Truby King
thumb|Sir Frederic Truby KingSir Frederic Truby King CMG , generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society....
: that babies should follow a strict routine from the day they are born, and that parents should dictate this routine, not the other way round. This included a rigid timetable with feeds every four hours, a separate room from the parents from day one, and rules forbidding "unnecessary contact" especially when the babies woke during the night. Verity also recommended that the babies spend several hours per day outside, saying that the fresh air helped them to sleep better.
Despite considerable controversy over the 1950s method, it appeared to have been the most effective in getting the babies to "sleep through the night" earlier and more regularly than the other children in the study.
The Benjamin Spock approach
Mentor Dreena Hamilton supervised two families (including a single mother) with the approach outlined by Benjamin SpockBenjamin Spock
Benjamin McLane Spock was an American pediatrician whose book Baby and Child Care, published in 1946, is one of the biggest best-sellers of all time. Its message to mothers is that "you know more than you think you do."Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis to try to understand...
in his best-selling book The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care
-External links:...
. The Spock method encouraged parents to use their instincts to detect a child's needs. Sarah Fox, one of the mothers using Spock's method admitted that her son Leon did not sleep as well as she would have liked, but the closer bond between them made following Spock worthwhile.
The Continuum concept
Mentor Claire Scott had her two families follow the Continuum conceptContinuum concept
The continuum concept is an idea relating to human development proposed by Jean Liedloff in her 1975 book The Continuum Concept. According to Liedloff, in order to achieve optimal physical, mental and emotional development, human beings—especially babies—require the kind of experience to which...
, developed from a study of South American Indians by anthropologist Jean Liedloff
Jean Liedloff
Jean Liedloff was an American author, born in New York, and best known for her 1975 book The Continuum Concept....
. The Continuum concept recommends constant skin-to-skin contact between the baby and its parents until it is twelve months old. The child sleeps in the same bed as the parents, and is carried around in a sling during the day. Grace Collins, who raised her son Oliver using the concept, also praised the bond this method built up between the child and parents, was not too inconvenient and had a positive effect on Oliver's development.
Controversy
The UK's media regulator OfcomOfcom
Ofcom is the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom. Ofcom was initially established by the Office of Communications Act 2002. It received its full authority from the Communications Act 2003...
received 752 complaints about Bringing Up Baby, and conducted an investigation which cleared the programme of breaching the broadcasting code. Ofcom found that although some of the techniques portrayed in the series were controversial, they were in presented in an appropriate context, and the audience was properly informed of the benefits and disadvantages of each. It determined that Channel 4 had taken due care to ensure the health and wellbeing of the children used as subjects in the experiment, and that the families involved had given clear consent and were free to discontinue their involvement at any time during the filming.
Childcare expert Gina Ford
Gina Ford
Gina Ford is a British writer on parenting methods and a former maternity nurse, without formal qualifications, who claims to have cared for over 300 babies during her career. Ford's 1999 book The Contented Little Baby Book advocates a daily routine for both the baby and the parents, with the day...
strongly criticised Verity's methods in a letter to the NSPCC
NSPCC
The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children is a United Kingdom charity campaigning and working in child protection.-History:...
, urging them to take steps to ensure that television production companies not continue this form of "child abuse
Child abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
".
The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID) released a statement on its website, expressing concern over Verity's recommendation that a baby sleep in a separate room from its parents from the day it was born. The FSID stated that "Advice on the programme that a baby should sleep in its own bedroom from day one has, in fact, been found to double the risk of cot death."
In addition, questions arose over Verity's qualifications as a maternity nurse. Channel 4 had issued a press release listing a number of qualifications Verity claimed to hold. When The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper requested a list from Verity's agent, it found the lists differed. Verity claimed to hold diplomas in child daycare and pre-school practice from ASET
ASET (education)
ASET is a national awarding body in the United Kingdom that provides Awards and Qualifications in post-14 vocational and higher education and training....
, qualifications in maternity practice, sleep training and paediatrics from Maternity Nurse Training, and a diploma in childcare from Goal. All three organisations confirmed that they had no record of granting such qualifications to Verity, and Channel 4 conducted an investigation into the claims.
When the series aired in Australia on the ABC1
ABC1
ABC1 was a United Kingdom based television channel from Disney using the branding of the Disney owned American network, ABC.The channel initially launched exclusively on the British digital terrestrial television platform Freeview on 27 September 2004. On 10 December 2004 it was launched on...
network in 2009, complaints to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
Australian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
regarding the controversies in the UK prompted the ABC to broadcast a disclaimer before the second and subsequent episodes of the series:
Disclaimer: Some of the parenting practices advocated by the mentors in this series are not consistent with current, scientifically based, safe sleeping messages and can increase the risks of sudden and unexpected death in infancy including SIDS and fatal sleeping accidents. The ABC advises that the term "maternity nurse" used in this program does not signify a professionally qualified nurse but rather someone with experience in caring for babies and children.
External links
- Official website (Channel 4Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
)