Who is DR BENJAMIN SPOCK Mommas Boy Olympic

• • • Who is DR. BENJAMIN SPOCK? Momma’s Boy Olympic Gold Medalist Baby Doctor Best Selling author Would be Vice Pres. Candidate Activist • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=FTDBL_U 68 XM 1

Benny � Born May 2, 1903 ◦ New Haven, CT � Oldest of 6 children ◦ Closest to (Marjorie) Hiddy She was younger, but tougher ◦ Mother’s prayer 2

Ben Spock’s Mother � Mamma loved Babies! ◦ Spock helped care for the younger 5 children ◦ Once a toddler, discipline began � Very Strict! ◦ Had very extreme rules on the children ◦ Dr. Luther Emmett Holt 3

Fresh air! ◦ Mother always wanted the children to have fresh air! ◦ Sleeping porch –all year round. ◦ Summer Complaint 4

Ben’s Father � Ben’s father, Benjamin Ives Spock ◦ Successful lawyer ◦ Nurturing and humble ◦ Transferred to position as a railroad lawyer �Traveled away from family and returned on weekends �Ben left in charge as “man of the house” ◦ Affectionate with daughters, not with sons 5

Schooling � Home school ◦ “Are you that stupid? § Mrs. Ogden’s Home school � Public � Fresh school Air School! ◦ “hot air” 6

Hamdan Hall Boys School Campus full of trees, athletics and classmates from good backgrounds. � Grades got good. � Grew to 6 ft. � Teacher (Mr. Babcock) become his idol. � Awkward at sports, but loved dance class 7

High School Andover Boarding School ◦ Never got homesick ◦ Lettered in Track (High jump) ◦ Christmas Dance Sneak-out 8

YALE (1921) � “Townie” ◦ “Most Townies feel in an ignominious position, like you are not a full fledged student because you have to go home for supper. ” � Worked the summer at a camp for crippled children 9

YALE - Junior Year � Joined rowing! ◦ Gold Medal Olympics team 1924! 10

YALE � Joined � Met � Yale Secret Society his future wife, Jane Cheney Medical School � Wanted a summer job as a tutor ◦ Mother disagreed ◦ Tougher job 11

MARRIAGE Move to NYC ◦ Columbia Medical School 12

New York City � Ben first in his graduating class of 1929 � Still strongly desired to be a pediatrician ◦ 2 year internship at Presbyterian hospital ◦ Listen to patients! 13

Jane and Dr. George Draper Research Assistant ◦ studying link between patient’s psychology and their susceptibility to certain physical problems. Jane goes in for Psychoanalysis Spock starts studying Freud! 14

Roaring 20’s �Went dancing all of the time ◦ “Dr. Spock’s Dancing Academy” 15

Anti-Prohibition Movement 16

Baby Peter Spock Born prematurely. - severely underweight (3 pounds) - lungs were not fully developed. - Died shortly after birth. 17

Practicing Medicine � Internship in pediatrics ◦ Spent a lot of time with mothers ◦ Infants sucking thumbs 18

Practicing Medicine � Dr. Holt ◦ Early 20 s-30 s ◦ “Mother’s knowledge is limited” ◦ Strict schedules! ◦ Less sentimentality-more spanking �If parents had to kiss their child, aim forehead or cheek 19

Watson � Psychological Care of Infant and Child (1928) � Behavioral Modification � � Once a child’s character has been spoiled by bad handling, which can be done in a few days, who can say that the damage is ever repaired. “A child’s biggest threat is too much mother love” ◦ “Never hug or kiss them, never let them sit in your lap. If you must, kiss them once on the forehead when they say goodnight. Shake hands with them in the morning. ” 20

… Back to Freud � Focused on and believed Freud’s first stages of development � Tried to find pediatric psychiatric training in NYC 21

Psychiatric Training 1932 � Started his one-year psychiatric residency at Cornell University � After his training he agreed most with psychoanalysis 22

PRACTICE � Opened his own pediatric practice in 1933 � Continue studying Freud ◦ New York Psychoanalytic Institute 23

Psychoanalysis Continued… � Spock had himself analyzed ◦ Discovered an Oedipus complex �“I may have been keeping extra accusations and criticisms against my mother because I was afraid to recognize or express my natural hostility or rivalry with my father. ” - Spock � Believed the analysis truly was successful � Decided to use psychoanalysis in his practice 24

Practicing Pediatric Psychoanalysis Spock started thinking of child rearing in terms of Freudian theory! Too early weaning leads to neurosis! Harsh toilet training leads to compulsive overly possessive adults! 25

Caroline B. Zachry Educational Psychologist Introduced Spock to John Dewey’s Ideas. - learning by doing - children are eager learners 26

Successes!. . with problems � Pediatric office was booming ◦ Mothers and children loved him ◦ Fun office for children ◦ Lots of patients, but not a lot of money � Ben and Jane give birth to son Michael! (1933) ◦ Brought up according to Holt! � 1937 becomes board certified pediatrician 27

Writing a book - 1941 A lot of support by Jane � She did all of the typing and editing ◦ Threw in ideas of her own 28

Writing the book, continued � Main message of the book: TRUST YOURSELVES-YOU KNOW MORE THAN YOU THINK YOU DO! � Goals were to teach parents flexibility and affection ◦ Treat them as INDIVIDUALS! � Emphasized mainly mothers, but noted the importance of fathers 29

Examples of his lessons � � “It is unnecessary for a mother to stick to a rigid feeding schedule for her baby. It may hurt a mother emotionally to have to wait for a fixed feeding time while her baby wails. ” ◦ It isn’t necessarily bad to aim for regularity, however. “I don't think it's good to let a baby cry miserably for long periods if there's a way to comfort him, not because it will do him any physical harm but because of what it might do to his and his mother's spirits. ” ◦ BUT- “The spoiled child is not a happy creature even in his own home. ” 30

1944 - Pregnancy and the Navy! � 1944, Jane pregnant with John � Spock enlisted into the Navy as psychiatrist & pediatrician ◦ Continued to write the book through the phone and letters � Ben transferred to California ◦ Jane moved out to join him ◦ John at home gets sick ◦ 1946 Ben is released 31

Books Published! Hard Cover: The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care Paperback 32

Success and celebrity! � Extremely successful-though controversial ◦ Wrote “when in doubt, consult your doctor” � Mothers LOVED the book ◦ Sent letters by the hundreds � Spock was almost frightened by the success of the book ◦ Sold 750, 000 copies within the first year ◦ More than 4 million within the first six years ◦ Translated to many 31 languages 33

Move to Minnesota-1947 � Taught � Jane at Mayo Clinic’s Child Health Institute missed New York City very much ◦ Felt very out casted and lonely � Spock and Michael’s relationship seemed to grow significantly � Spock’s boss passed away ◦ Program fell through 34

Move to Pittsburgh-1951 � Position as teacher and lecturer at University of Pittsburgh � Jane remained unhappy ◦ Alcoholism and angry with Ben ◦ Ben started to treat her like she didn’t exist � 1954, at age 48, Jane suffered a mental breakdown 35

Move to Cleveland-1958 � Conducted child-rearing studies ◦ Western Reserve University � Used Freudian techniques � Focused more on everyday problems and how to help the children psychologically � Overall the study made great observations, but was not very scientifically experimental 36

Book Revisions ◦ 1957 - emphasizes importance of “firm but gentle” control of children. ◦ 1968 ◦ 1976 – feminist Version ◦ 1985 – adds a co-author Michael B. Rothenberg ◦. . 2012 9 th Edition. 37

POLITICS (Pacifist) � 1960 – campaigned for Kennedy � National Policy Committee for a Sane Nuclear � 1965, Coretta Scott King joined with SANE spokesman Spock to rally against the war in New York and Washington, D. C. 38

Major time changes. . 1967 Ø He retired from practicing medicine Ø MLK and Spock co-chaired the spring Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam. Ø More than 150, 000 people 39

1968 Charged for conspiracy to aid draft resisters. 40

On Trial � While on trial, Spock was questioned why a baby doctor should concern himself with political issues… “What is the use of a physician like myself trying to help parents to bring up children, healthy and happy, to have them killed in such numbers for a cause that is ignoble? ” 41

On Trial � After a long four weeks of trial, Spock was convicted ◦ 2 Years in prison, plus $2, 000 “I say to the American People, WAKE UP! Get out there and do something before it is too late! Do something NOW!” 42

July 1969 � Traveling with Jane ◦ Call from his secretary in his office in New York CONSPRICY CONVICTION THROWN OUT! 43

1972 � Ran for President of the United States in 1972 on the People's Party ticket. 44

Continued Politics � Throughout his life, Ben continued in politics ◦ Antiwar movements during Nixon’s presidency ◦ Ended up being arrested more than 20 times � He also continued to write ◦ “Dr. Spock on Vietnam” ◦ “Delay and Deny” ◦ “Spock on Spock” 45

Ongoing Activism � Past the age of seventy, Spock was arrested for protesting against a nuclear power plant in New Hampshire, budget cuts at the White House, and nuclear weapons at the Pentagon. � Past eighty, Spock still gave as many as a hundred talks a year on the nuclear arms race. 46

Family � Marriage to Jane ended in divorce after 48 years in 1976. � His second marriage to Mary Morgan (28 years his Junior) lasted 22 years. � Both son’s are doing well, however his grandson Pete suffered from schizophrenia and committed suicide at age 22. 47

Dr. Spock passed away at 94 48