Doctor Spock

Reading audio



2004-10-2

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special
English. Today we tell about the world's most famous doctor for
children, Benjamin Spock.

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VOICE ONE:

Benjamin Spock's first book caused a revolution in the way
American children were raised. His book, "The Common Sense Book of
Baby and Child Care," was published in nineteen forty-six. More
copies of it have been sold in the United States than any other book
except the Christian Bible. The book gave advice to parents of
babies and young children. The first lines of the book are famous.
Doctor Spock wrote: "Trust yourself. You know more than you think
you do".

VOICE TWO:

This message shocked many parents. For years, mothers had been
told that they should reject their natural feelings about their
babies. Before Doctor Spock's book appeared, the most popular guide
to raising children was called "Psychological Care of Infant and
Child." The book's writer, John B. Watson, urged extreme firmness in
dealing with children. The book called for a strong structure of
rules in families. It warned parents never to kiss, hug or
physically comfort their children.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Spock's book was very different. He gave gentle advice to
ease the fears of new parents. Doctor Spock said his work was an
effort to help parents trust their own natural abilities in caring
for their children. Doctor Spock based much of his advice on the
research and findings of the famous Austrian psychoanalyst, Sigmund
Freud. Doctor Spock's book discusses the mental and emotional
development of children. It urges parents to use that information to
decide how to deal with their babies when they are crying, hungry,
or tired.

For example, Doctor Spock dismissed the popular idea of exactly
timed feedings for babies. Baby care experts had believed that
babies must be fed at the same times every day or they would grow up
to be demanding children.

Doctor Spock said babies should be fed when they are hungry. He
argued that babies know better than anyone about when and how much
they need to eat. He did not believe that feeding babies when they
cry in hunger would make them more demanding. He also believed that
showing love to babies by hugging and kissing them would make them
happier and more secure.

VOICE TWO:

"The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care" examined the
emotional and physical growth of children. Doctor Spock said he did
not want to just tell a parent what to do. He said he tried to
explain what children generally are like at different times in their
development so parents would know what to expect.

Doctor Spock's book did not receive much notice from the media
when it was published in nineteen forty- six. Yet, seven hundred
fifty thousand copies of the book were sold during the year after
its release. Doctor Spock began receiving many letters of thanks
from mothers around the country.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Spock considered his mother, Mildred Spock, to be the
major influence on his personal and professional life. He said his
ideas about how parents should act were first formed because of her.
He reacted to the way in which his mother cared for him and his
brother and sisters.

Doctor Spock described his mother as extremely controlling. He
said she believed all human action was the result of a physical
health issue or a moral one. She never considered her children's
actions were based on emotional needs.

Doctor Spock later argued against this way of thinking. Yet, he
praised his mother's trust of her own knowledge of her children. In
his book, "Spock on Spock," he wrote about his mother's ability to
correctly identify her children's sicknesses when the doctors were
wrong.

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VOICE TWO:

Benjamin Spock was born in nineteen-oh-three. He was the first of
six children. The Spock family lived in New Haven, Connecticut. His
father was a successful lawyer. Benjamin was a quiet child. He
attended Phillips Academy, a private school in Andover,
Massachusetts. Later he attended Yale University in New Haven. He
joined a sports team at Yale that competed in rowing boats. In
nineteen twenty-four, he and his team members competed in rowing at
the Olympic Games in Paris, France. They won the gold medal.

VOICE ONE:

Benjamin Spock worked at a camp for disabled children for three
summers during his years at Yale. He said the experience probably
led to his decision to enter medical school. He began at Yale
Medical School, but he completed his medical degree at Columbia
University in New York City. He graduated as the best student in his
class in nineteen twenty-nine.

Benjamin Spock had married Jane Cheney during his second year in
medical school. They later had two sons, Michael and John.

Doctor Spock began working as a pediatrician, treating babies and
children in New York City in nineteen thirty-three. During the next
ten years he tried to fit the theories about how children develop
with what mothers told him about their children. In nineteen
forty-three, a publisher asked him to write a book giving advice to
parents. He finished the book by writing at night during his two
years of service in the United States Navy.

Jane Spock helped her husband
produce the first version of "Baby and Child Care." She typed the
book from his notes and spoken words.

VOICE TWO:

During the nineteen fifties, Doctor Spock became famous. He wrote
several other books. He wrote articles for a number of magazines. He
appeared on television programs. He taught at several universities.
And he gave speeches around the country to talk to parents about
their concerns.

During this time, he discovered things he wanted to change in the
book. He wanted to make sure parents knew they should have control
over their children and expect cooperation from them. So, in
nineteen fifty-seven the second version of the book was published.
He continued to make changes to "Baby and Child Care" throughout his
life. In all, there have been seven versions of the book.

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VOICE ONE:

In the nineteen sixties, Benjamin Spock began to be active in
politics. He supported John F. Kennedy in his campaign for
president. He joined a group opposed to the development of nuclear
weapons.

Doctor Spock also took part in demonstrations to protest the
Vietnam War. In nineteen sixty-eight, he was found guilty of
plotting to aid men who were refusing to join the American armed
forces.

VOICE TWO:

Doctor Spock appealed the ruling against him. Finally, it was
cancelled. However, the legal battle cost Doctor Spock a lot of
money. The events damaged public opinion of the once very trusted
children's doctor. Fewer people bought his books. Some people said
Doctor Spock's teachings were to blame for the way young people in
the nineteen sixties and seventies rebelled against the rules of
society. A leading American religious thinker of that time called
Doctor Spock "the father of permissiveness."

In nineteen seventy-two, Doctor Spock decided to seek election as
president of the United States. He was the candidate of the small
"People's Party." He spoke out on issues concerning working
families, children and minorities. Doctor Spock received about
seventy-five thousand votes in the election that Richard Nixon won.

VOICE ONE:

Doctor Spock's marriage had been suffering for some time. For
years, Jane Spock drank too much alcohol and suffered from
depression. She reportedly felt her husband valued his professional
and political interests more than he valued her. In nineteen
seventy-five, Benjamin and Jane Spock ended their forty-eight-year
marriage. One year later, Mary Morgan became his second wife.

VOICE TWO:

More than fifty million copies of Doctor Spock's "Baby and Child
Care" book have been sold since it was published. It has been
published in thirty-nine languages. The current version includes the
latest medical developments. It also deals with social issues such
as working mothers, day care centers and single parents.

Benjamin Spock did not see the release of the last version of his
book in May, nineteen ninety-eight. He died two months earlier at
the age of ninety-four. Yet his advice continues to affect the lives
of millions of children and their parents.

(THEME)

VOICE ONE:

This program was written by Caty Weaver. It was produced by Jill
Moss. I'm Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Steve Ember. Join us again next week for another People
in America program in VOA Special English.