Benjamin Spock | |
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![]() Spock in 1976 | |
Born | Benjamin McLane Spock May 2, 1903 New Haven, Connecticut, U.S. |
Died | March 15, 1998 San Diego, California, U.S. | (aged 94)
Education | Yale University (BA) Columbia University (MD) |
Spouse |
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Children | 2 |
Relatives | Marjorie Spock (sister) |
Awards | E. Mead Johnson Award (1948) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Pediatrics, psychoanalysis |
Institutions | Mayo Clinic 1947–1951 University of Pittsburgh 1951–1955 Case Western Reserve University 1955–1967 |
Signature | |
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Benjamin McLane Spock (May 2, 1903 – March 15, 1998) was an American pediatrician[1] and left-wing political activist.[2] His book Baby and Child Care (1946) is one of the best-selling books of the 20th century, selling 500,000 copies in the six months after its initial publication and 50 million by the time of Spock's death in 1998.[3] The book's premise told mothers, "You know more than you think you do."[4]
Spock was the first pediatrician to study psychoanalysis in an effort to understand children's needs and family dynamics. His ideas influenced several generations of parents, encouraging them to be more flexible and affectionate with their children and to treat them as individuals. However, his theories were widely criticized by colleagues for relying heavily on anecdotal evidence rather than serious academic research.[5]
After undergoing a self-described "conversion to socialism", Spock became an activist in the New Left and anti-Vietnam War movements during the '60s and early '70s, culminating in his run for President of the United States as the People's Party nominee in 1972. He campaigned on a maximum wage, legalized abortion, and withdrawing troops from all foreign countries. His books were criticized by conservatives for propagating permissiveness and an expectation of instant gratification, a charge that Spock denied.[6]
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