Mea Culpa

Or, stupid baby books, the rant continues.

For whatever reason, Elisabeth & I have been have more child development/ parenting conversations than usual.  The usual things get covered; what we're doing right, what we're doing wrong, what could be done better, too much, too little andcasting broad accusations and unfair judgements on others.  Fairly standard stuff.

The interesting thing is that it seems that in every conversation two of the following three terms come up: "The Baby Whisperer," "Penelope Leach," "What to Expect in the First Year."  Yes, the bloody baby books rear their ugly heads and control our lives once more with their infantilizing advice, digitally altered too cute to be real babies and idyllic white upper class Ikea backgrounds.  (There is something soul destroying about seeing the exact same furniture or toys in these books that we have bought for Henry.)

Caveat: Elisabeth is the one reading the books.  She continues to read them and absorb their  "knowledge."  I make fun of them and rely on her to tell me the stuff I need to know.

Aside: Infant Potty Basics by Laurie Boucke is possibly the worst thing I have ever looked at with regard to child rearing.  It encompasses all that I hate about hippies.  From it's grainy black and white photos of humourless women with bodies shaped like nylons stuffed with cotton and personalities like yogurt, holding inbred babies destined to grow up to be stock brokers or mormons, to it's Everyone can do it! attitude without concrete guidelines as to actually do it, to what amounts to the praising of poverty, the encouragement to raise as first world child as though you were living in the third world and the attempt to normalize the wearing of assless chaps by toddlers, this is something I just can't get behind.  In a nutshell, it's a book more interested in spreading a washed up ideology by conservative people confused into thinking their liberal because instead of using diapers, they take their 4 month old to the park, whip off its pants and let it have a pee off the park bench.  Practical stuff when it's -20 with a windchill.  If you want to order the book, click here.  Laurie Boucke also publishes a diverse selection of books which include... Beating up Daddy... Killer Pics... and Limericks of the Heart (And Lungs).  This one is my favourite:

Did you know that the first time you smoke

In addition to making you choke

It burns your lung hairs?

And there aren't any spares -

Healthy cilia make those germs croak.

But I digress...

There has to be something said for accumulated knowledge.  In one on Our favourite programmes, G.B.H., there's a scene near the end where Michael Palin addresses a room full of very misguided revolutionary socialists and brings up the core problem with ideology.  To paraphrase: "You've only read one book.  You need to read a variety of books, and then decide."

This, in essence is my issues the, yes I can't leave her alone, The Baby Whisperer.  Out of all the other books we've (Elisabeth) has read, this is the only one to actually tell you not to read other books.  Not to become well rounded.  Not to dare consider anything other than her highly structured routine schedule whatever.

Loath as I am to admit it, The Baby Whisperer has given us good advice.  Tips on things to look out for, what to be aware of, as well as some pretty good strategies at how to train Henry.  But so has Penelope Leach.  And so has Heidi Murkoff and her think tank of What to Expecters.  I'm open to advice and looking for information.  But when one person tells you to listen to them and only to them, it's clear that they're no longer offering you advice but an agenda.