Dr Benjamin Spock’s Common Sense Book of Baby & Child Care was published on 14 July 1946.
The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care was written by American pediatrician Dr Benjamin Spock and is one of the best-selling books of the 20th century, with 500,000 copies sold in the first six months after publication in 1946, and 50 million by the time of the author’s death in 1998. One source places the book as the seventh best-selling book of all time and it has been translated into many languages. During Spock’s lifetime, there were seven editions of the book and his name became a household word.
Spock’s intent in writing the book was to disseminate comprehensive information to all mothers, giving advice that combined the physical and psychological aspects of child care. So that any mother could afford it, the book initially sold at just twenty-five American cents.
Baby and Child Care served as the definitive child-rearing manual for millions of parents in the “baby boom” that followed World War II. It was intended to counteract the rigid pediatric doctrines of the day, which emphasized strict feeding schedules and discouraged open displays of affection between parent and child. Spock encouraged understanding and flexibility on the part of parents, and he stressed the importance of listening to children and appreciating their individual differences. Mothers heavily relied on Spock’s advice and appreciated his friendly, reassuring tone. Spock emphasizes in his book that, above all, parents should have confidence in their abilities and trust their instincts. The famous first line of the book reads, “Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do.”
Spock’s views evolved over time. In later editions, he stopped treating parenting as “mothering,” introduced gender-neutral language for children and admitted that he had been wrong to warn against allowing babies to sleep on their backs.
The book has been updated and expanded by pediatrician, Dr Robert Needlman and the 10th edition was published in 2018.