The Sun published an article about her on 12th May 2007. To read the article in a new window Click here.
Claire is reportedly working with Silver River who are producing a series for Channel Four called Bringing up Baby. We have written to both but have not yet had a reply. We will publish their responses.
Claire is speaking at the Baby Show at Earls Court (she recently appeared at NEC Birmingham).
Her regimes are harsh, and if followed to the letter, are highly likely to damage children.
There is a worrying increase in self-styled (and often childless) parenting gurus who enjoy celebrity status by offering parents techniques of managing babies and children that have been discredited in research for decades.
It should no longer be acceptable to ignore the basic needs of children.
This blog is somewhere for people worried about these trends to write objective reasons why Claire Verity and others in the same genre should no longer be tolerated in the parenting field. Please click here to submit your support. Your submission will be checked and posted as quickly as possible.
Alternatively, you can comment on a post - use the link below and please leave a name.
Let's make this a national campaign that the media and broadcasters cannot ignore.
Help us please.
Clive Dorman
Director & Co-founder
The Children's Project
15 comments:
I actually done the reverse of her advise: breast fed my babies on demand, never left my arms for the first 8 month , slept in my bed until they wanted their own bedrooms.... and guess what? I have 2 fantastic, healthy emotioanlly and physically, beautiful children of 9 and 14.... never had any trouble, doing fantastically at school, they have lots of friends and very good in sport.... oh, I forgot: my kids tell me they love me every day....I think I am doing a lot better than her famous friends she advised!
She sounds like a complete bitch. I'm not surprised to hear she's got no children; it's always the ones that don't have them that are 'experts'!!! She seems to think people have children just to reproduce (like the animals on her dad's farm) rather than to enjoy them! I can't believe people are taking her seriously - she sounds like a complete lunatic to me! I certainly wouldn't let her within 100 miles of my baby!!
i would like to say that i have also done the reverse of what clare advised. i can not believe that she is advercating the restriction of cuddles and they should not get'use' to the breast. all babies are different and they do feed at different times but to say that the loving cuddles and bonding should be restricted then she should be banned from any organisation or public event. the celebs that have used her techniques need to look at the normal mums and dads and see how the love and attention that is given to thier children has in most cases developed well educated and polite children, who do not need to the public attention that most celebs children crave. all three of my children are perfect in thier wellbeing. this women is very dangerous and needs stopping. i'm a student midwife and if a new mum asks me how i feel about the routine that this woman has set up i would tell them to ditch it and go with what they feel in thier heart and as lnog as baby is happy and safe and mum and dad are happy then nobody has the right to tell them thier doing it wrong. and children dont not feeding every 4 hours, we already have a problem with obesity in children in this country, where will this type of therepy lead. to children who are not happy and obese. STOP HER NOW
(The following was originally posted to the Sun in response to the article on Claire Verity. A disclaimer before I post it here: I have learned to be very wary of taking everything newspapers say at face value, and I wouldn't assume that everything the Sun says about her is necessarily correct. Some of the things they say do seem to be direct quotes or quite specific points; in other places, it seems possible to me that the Sun may have exaggerated at least somewhat. I think it's worth keeping this in mind before mounting any campaign.
However, whether or not the Sun exaggerated Verity's actual methods, the very fact that a national newspaper reports a childcare 'expert' as saying such things has the potential to be damaging regardless of whether or not she actually said them. As such, I think the comment I'm reproducing here is a reasonable response to the article.)
As a GP of many years' experience who keeps up with the best of current research into childcare, I am extremely concerned about Claire Verity's methods. Many of them have been discredited years ago, for the simple reason that our increased knowledge has made the dangers of these methods very clear.
Claire strongly advises putting babies in their own room from the first day. Several large studies have found that this practice is linked with an increased risk of SIDS – cot death. Responsible medical practitioners advise that your baby should sleep in the same room as you for at least the first six months (of course, many parents keep their babies in the same room for even longer with no problems).
Claire advises feeding babies only every four hours and not feeding them during the night. Most very young babies *need* feeding more often than this. Previous attempts to use such regimes with newborn babies have led to terrifying cases of dehydration and failure to thrive. (Parents may find it instructive to do a bit of research into Ezzo's methods in the USA and the results that these have had.) My blood ran cold when I read that she was using these methods with premature babies. This is very dangerous indeed; I am not exaggerating when I say that these methods could kill a baby.
It also troubles me that she advocates restricting cuddles. While it's quite true that babies don't need you to spend every minute playing with them or carrying them around, there are now decades of research conclusively proving that babies *do* need plenty of warm, loving interaction during the day – far more than would be provided by cuddling a baby only at feeding or bath times. Without such interaction, a baby's brain literally cannot develop properly – they need plenty of affection to learn how to communicate, socialise, and care for others as they grow up. Depriving babies of affection to the extent this article advocates can lead to children who grow up with numerous behavioural problems, and can also predispose to depression and other psychological problems in adulthood.
I sincerely hope that your article was an exaggeration and that Claire's methods are not this harsh in reality. I also hope that no-one is naïve enough to follow the advice given in the article with their children.
I don't think it's dangerous what Claire Verity is doing and "preaching". Nowadays most children haven't got enough routine and mothers often end up being the children's slaves from day one.
Of course it's right to cuddle your baby, but there is absolutely nothing against it when babies from a young age are introduced and taught a certain sleeping/feeding routine. Most mothers (including myself) are suffering from extreme sleep-deprivation in teh first couple of weeks or months and in some cases taht in itself will lead to post-natal depression.
Babies need mothers who can give as much love and attention as possible- and therefore their sleep pattern has to adjust as well.
Thanks God for people like Clare because we already have enough of the opposite "experts".
I haven't had a baby yet, but I know I won't be using Claire Verity's methods are evil. How can you leave a baby to cry? Why have a baby if you just want to put it in the garden so it doesn't interfere with your routine?
Channel 4 has tonight broadcast the first of 4 programmes that feature Clare Verity's draconian parenting methods. I sincerely hope that no one watching will think they are a good idea.
No newborn child should be left to cry. Even animals do not leave their young to cry.
1950's methods should be left where they belong - in the history books.
To think that this woman is charging £1000 per day to impose this routine. It is astounding.
to "Anonymous", posting on the 20th Sept.
It is indeed dangerous to follow CV's methods. The hormone that is released when a baby cries effectively drugs him to sleep. SO of course, the cry it out method does work, and will work, because the baby is drugging himself to sleep. If you allow the baby to drug himself to sleep on a regular basis, you run the risk of causing severe brain damage in that child.
Would you give a child Valium to help him sleep? Would you give him Temazepam? Why on earth would it be ok to let a child drug himself to sleep just so it suits you?
And as a disclaimer - I am a mother. I have a 9 month old baby boy, who is breastfed, worn in a sling and cuddled all the time. Yes, I have had bouts of extreme depression which could be labeled as PND due to tiredness. This is normal. What is not normal is leaving your newborn baby in a room to cry himself to sleep.
Fuxake.
As a mother of a seven month old baby I felt horrified watching Claire Verity on BUB on C4 last night. Refusing to make eye contact and leaving a child to cry for hopurs on end is tantamount to child abuse. I feel it was irresponsible of C4 to create the programme and allow so much emotional abuse to happen. Those poor babies.
This women made me so angry, I think something should be done about her. Bring back capital punishment she deserbes it.
The parents on the programme made me very angry they were crying but not doing anything about it if that was my baby then I would not of allowed it to happen who cares about the tv programme and the money they were getting it is there baby.
I was extremely upset by the programme 'Bringing Up Baby' on Channel 4 - principally as I found it astonishing that parents would offer up their newborn babies to such an antiquated and blatantly nonsensical regime as that championed by Claire Verity.
Where is the place for common sense? For moderation? Completely unbelievable. Perhaps desperation to appear on TV? I'm sorry but as ridiculous as her regime is (and it is to anyone with a modicom of intelligence), why are these people actually listening to her?! Have we lost confidence in ourselves so very much?
I have a beautiful, happy 5 month old, who usually sleeps fairly well (7 till 6) and is eating well too - having slowly adjusted to a roughly-eating-every-4-hours routine, with lots of love and cuddles along the way. It is possible to reach a happy balance. This country is becoming more and more 'results-obsessed' (league tables etc.) and we are now doing this to our babies (DO they sleep through at 2 days old? Why not?!?!) For goodness sake!!!!!!!
I have a feeling she's kiboshed her own career as no celebrity will want to touch her for fear of reprisals in their own careers and no baby show will want her as a speaker as she'll probably find it difficult to be listened to. From what I have read on other sites she already had problems as her talks were often interupted by people who hated her advice and now i'd be amazed if she'll be allowed to talk anywhere.
The techniques that Ms Verity employ are cruel and destructive in my opinion. Having watched the 1st programme 'bringing up baby' one of the most lasting and upsetting moments, was when the bigger sister was told that she could not interact with her new sister. How damaging is this to the elder sister, not participating, not holding, not engaging, not being allowed to show affection, to her younger sibling. My heart aches still for this young girl.
When we are gifted with children, they should be loved, kept close and involved with the family unit, not litterally left out in the cold.
Please let there be something done to protect innocent babies from this brutal rearing technique.
JAC
I am currently nursing my 2 week old daughter. I have 4 sons ( the oldest is 17) all of whom were fed on demand and comforted when they cried. They have all fallen into a routine quite naturally ( and, as it happens within the first few weeks )without me having to impose one. It is nonsense that demand feeding and responding to a babies cries creates a demanding baby and increases the likelihood of PN depression ( as one of your commenters speculates) The evidence suggests that the contrary is true. Witholding comfort from a crying baby is highly stressful and unnatural for the mother as well as the infant. Consoling and holding a small baby is very soothing for the mother. Breast feeding stimulates production of oxytocin, the 'happy hormone'.
It is an utter myth that unless a routine is imposed on a baby very early on that the baby will never develop what I prefer to refer to as a 'rhythm'.
I also question the idea that after having a baby one needs to 'get ones life back' I have a life, its a beautiful one. My days are spent nursing a sweet baby, our whole family waste hours gazing in wonder at the tiny perfection of her fingers, her little nose, the funny way she yawns etc. I feel so desperately sorry for those parents who have had their anxieties about losing a grip on their 'life' so stoked by controlling characters such as Claire Verity that they are being robbed of a brief season of the most unutterable tenderness, sweetness and joy.
This woman is a pest. she isn't a mother and follows the teaching of a man [obviously not a mother] Mothers have enough to feel guity about without this hidious tyrant making them worse. I have two happy well adjusted grown up daughters born in the late 80's. I was a good enough mother attending to their needs as I saw fit at the time
They were both very different babies and were treat as such.My mother was a Truby King follower and it led to a lot of arguments. I brought my babies my way relying on my instinct. Parents know a lot more than they think they do and should be encoraged to do things their way!
Post a Comment