I’D SAY YOUNGER THAN 18 …
I do hope the future will look back on late 20th- and early 21st-century child-rearing norms as an aberration that was decisively rectified:
ONE of the world’s most popular parenting gurus is to warn that placing children younger than three in nurseries risks damaging their development.
Steve Biddulph, whose books have sold more than 4m copies worldwide, says that instead of subsidising nurseries, which do a “second-rate†job, the government should put in place policies to enable mothers to stay at home with their babies.
The advice signals a reversal of views for Biddulph, an Australian with more than 20 years’ experience as a therapist, whose previous bestsellers include Raising Boys and Raising Girls.
In his new book Biddulph will admit he has changed his mind because of growing evidence of increased aggression, antisocial behaviour and other problems among children who have spent a large part of their infancy being cared for away from home.
2 Responses to “I’D SAY YOUNGER THAN 18 …”
 Comment by Spunky February 13th, 2006 at 8:42 am |
I’m glad he’s turne around. But why do people listen to these “experts” anyway? |
 Comment by Jason February 13th, 2006 at 1:13 pm |
For the same reason that people bring in ‘experts’ or ‘consultants’ for virtually every problem that life confronts them with. When people suffered from depression 100 years ago, they would seek solace in the company of others, or in religion, or maybe just booze; the ‘enlightened’ citizens of today seek solace in professional therapy or prescription drugs. The same goes for raising children, I think; to paraphrase Clemenceau, it’s ‘too important to be left to the parents.’ |