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| WARNING: On Becoming Babywise by Gary Ezzo has been linked to Failure to Thrive and other serious problems in babies! |
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| Good Books: Nursing Toddlers, Weaning, Cultural & Political Perspectives, Fertility, Fatherhood, Medications |
| It is frightening how popular this book continues to be, despite all the bad press it has received. If you are given this book as a gift, or are considering purchasing it for yourself, please do your research first. This book is the King of the Stinkers. |
| Some of Ezzo's ideas sound quite good -- teaching your child hand signals to help the baby communicate, for example. But what if the baby doesn't comply? What if your baby should be so defiant as to actually play with her food, or the remote control, or arch her back while in the highchair? At 8 months, you should squeeze or swat the baby's hand. By 18 months, you should be hitting the child with a rubber spatula. If you don't, your "failure to correct a child today will lead to moral tyrrany tomorrow," they write. |
| The Babywise books had their start as Gary and Ann Marie Ezzo's "Growing Kids God's Way," when they were members of Grace Community Church in Simi Valley, CA. The idea is that teaching manners and obedience is important. Sounds innocent enough... but not in the Ezzo's style. They also promise a baby sleeping through the night at just 5 weeks. A dream for most sleep-deprived parents, a nightmare for the baby, and for the new nursing mom's milk supply. Further, by touting their method as "God's Way," many parents are frightened into believing that they will damage their child morally if they do not follow Ezzo's methods. |
| In 1998, the American Acadamy of Pediatrics (in response to letters received from many doctors and other health-care providers) passed a resolution to evaluate Ezzo's techniques, and later issued a statement that "scheduled feedings designed by parents may put babies at risk for poor weight gain and dehydration." |
| Ezzo eventually left the Grace Community Church, and the Board of Elders there, concerned about the effect his program was having, issued a statement about "Growing Kids God's Way." In it, Ezzo was accused of "confusing Biblical standards and personal preference." |
| The following quotes from parents using Ezzo's system are all taken from the February 27, 1999 article appearing on page A01 of The Washington Post: |
| One parent complained that her 2-year-old remained disobedient despite "the constant stream of welts on her bottom from the glue stick" and wondered what more she could do. A father fretted that his 13-month-old "will go back and forth from isolation to the high chair for up to 4 hours and still refuse to sign 'all done' " -- an Ezzo hand signal method -- "even though she has done it before and knows exactly what we are asking of her." Another complained that to her "astonishment," her 6-month-old had begun arching his back and fussing when she put him in a highchair. "It's so sad to see that they're really sinners," she concluded. "We're now on day 5 of Timothy's retraining for naps," a Michigan mother wrote recently. "Yesterday was the most difficult day ever. I thought the screaming and crying for 45 minutes was difficult, but I could endure it because I felt sure that this was the right thing to do. However yesterday, when I saw a little blood, it was hard not to panic and question my methods." |
| Read more about Ezzo's techniques and their effects at these sites here: |
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| On Becoming Babywise: A Flawed Parenting Philosophy? By the Editorial Staff at BabyCenter.com & Approved by their Medical Advisory Board |
| Our Take on Gary Ezzo and his book "On Becoming Babywise" By the Editorial Staff at BabyCenter.com & Approved by their Medical Advisory Board |
| Last Updated February 2, 2004 |
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