Gina Ford

Last updated
Gina Ford
Bornc. 1960 (age 6162)
OccupationAuthor, former maternity nurse
GenreChildcare
Notable worksThe Contented Little Baby Book

Gina Ford (born c. 1960) is a British author of childcare books in the United Kingdom and a former maternity nurse who has cared for over 300 babies during her career. [1] Ford's 1999 book The Contented Little Baby Book advocates a daily routine for both the baby and the parents, with the day divided up into very precise slots.

Contents

Praise and criticism

Criticism of Ford's approach has included that her methods are like "training animals". [2] Some criticism centres around the fact that she herself has no children and however much she learns about and cares for the children of others, having never experienced this as a parent means she lacks some fundamental first-hand experience of maternal brain chemistry changes. The maternal brain chemistry changes involve hormones that allow the mother to be more sensitive to her own infant's wants. [3]

In answer to criticism about her methods she writes, "I would never advise that young babies should be left to cry for lengthy periods of time to get themselves to sleep. I do stress that some overtired babies will fight sleep and they should be allowed 5-10 minutes' 'crying down' period." Ford writes further on this subject in her book.

Critics of her methods include Penelope Leach, Miriam Stoppard and Nick Clegg. [4]

In response to criticism levied against her, Ford suggests that the 25% market share of parenting books that her publications enjoy is proof that her methods do not harm children. [5]

Projects

In 2004, the BBC commissioned a series from Outline Productions called Gina Ford's Baby School, using Big Brother -style methods to oversee the progress of newborn babies. In January 2005, Ford had a meeting with BBC and Outline Productions, and refused to agree to certain reality-style aspects of the format. With only a few weeks before filming, Ford pulled out and was replaced by Dr Tanya Byron. [6]

Five Life commissioned a programme called Gina Ford: Who Are You To Tell Us?, which aired on 4 March 2007. [7]

Mumsnet libel

Ford has threatened legal action against online child and parenting forum mumsnet.com, claiming that users have made "defamatory" comments about her, and has demanded that the whole site be taken down. [8] In May 2007, this dispute was resolved with Mumsnet paying some of Ford's legal costs, but Mumsnet remaining open. [9]

In 2007, she wrote to the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children and accused child-care expert Claire Verity of “child abuse” for methods used in a Channel 4 series called Bringing Up Baby. [10]

Related Research Articles

Father Male parent

A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive father is a male who has become the child's parent through the legal process of adoption. A biological father is the male genetic contributor to the creation of the infant, through sexual intercourse or sperm donation. A biological father may have legal obligations to a child not raised by him, such as an obligation of monetary support. A putative father is a man whose biological relationship to a child is alleged but has not been established. A stepfather is a male who is the husband of a child's mother and they may form a family unit, but who generally does not have the legal rights and responsibilities of a parent in relation to the child.

Child care Care and supervision of children

Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks to eighteen years. Child care is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early child care is an equally important and often overlooked component of child development.

Claire Rayner British writer

Claire Berenice Rayner, OBE was an English journalist, broadcaster, novelist and nurse, best known for her role for many years as an agony aunt.

Attachment parenting

Attachment parenting (AP) is a parenting philosophy that proposes methods aiming to promote the attachment of parent and infant not only by maximal parental empathy and responsiveness but also by continuous bodily closeness and touch. The term attachment parenting was coined by the American pediatrician William Sears. There is no conclusive body of research that shows Sears’ approach to be superior to "mainstream parenting".

<i>Beloved</i> (novel) 1987 novel by Toni Morrison

Beloved is a 1987 novel by the American writer Toni Morrison. Set after the American Civil War, it tells the story of a family of formerly enslaved people whose Cincinnati home is haunted by a malevolent spirit. Beloved is inspired by an event that actually happened: Margaret Garner, an enslaved person in Kentucky, who escaped and fled to the free state of Ohio in 1856. She was subject to capture in accordance with the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850; when U.S. marshals burst into the cabin where Garner and her husband had barricaded themselves, she was attempting to kill her children, and had already killed her two-year-old daughter, to spare them from being returned to slavery.

Jo Frost English television personality (born 1970)

Joanne Frost is an English television personality, nanny and author. She is best known for the reality television programme Supernanny UK, in which she was the central figure. The show first aired in the United Kingdom in 2004 and she has branched off into several other reality shows in the United Kingdom, United States and the Netherlands. Family S.O.S. with Jo Frost addressed issues such as addiction and abuse. Family Matters is a talk show. She has written six books on child care.

Penelope Jane Leach, is a British psychologist who researches and writes extensively on parenting issues from a child development perspective.

A work at home parent is someone who conducts remote work from home and integrates parenting into his or her working time and workspace. They are sometimes referred to as a WAHM or a WAHD.

Truby King New Zealand health reformer

Sir Frederic Truby King, generally known as Truby King, was a New Zealand health reformer and Director of Child Welfare. He is best known as the founder of the Plunket Society.

Mumsnet Internet forum for parents

Mumsnet is a London-based internet forum, created in 2000 by Justine Roberts for discussion between parents of children and teenagers.

Heidi Murkoff

Heidi Murkoff is the author of the What to Expect When You're Expecting series of pregnancy guides. She is also the creator of WhatToExpect.com and founder of the What to Expect Foundation. Time magazine named Murkoff one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World for 2011. In 2005, she was inducted into the Books For A Better Life Hall of Fame. She has also been honored by Smithsonian Associates with the prestigious John P. McGovern Award, which recognizes contributions to American families.

Maternal deprivation Work on the effects of separating infants/young children from their mother

Maternal deprivation is a scientific term summarising the early work of psychiatrist and psychoanalyst John Bowlby on the effects of separating infants and young children from their mother although the effect of loss of the mother on the developing child had been considered earlier by Freud and other theorists. Bowlby's work on delinquent and affectionless children and the effects of hospital and institutional care led to his being commissioned to write the World Health Organization's report on the mental health of homeless children in post-war Europe whilst he was head of the Department for Children and Parents at the Tavistock Clinic in London after World War II. The result was the monograph Maternal Care and Mental Health published in 1951, which sets out the maternal deprivation hypothesis.

<i>Dustbin Baby</i> (film) 2008 television film directed by Juliet May

Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet Stevenson as Marion Bean, April's adoptive mother. David Haig stars as Elliot, Marion's friend and colleague. The screenplay was written by Helen Blakeman, and the film was produced by Kindle Entertainment. Dustbin Baby deals with themes including maternal bonding, bullying, and youth crime. The story revolves around April running away on her fourteenth birthday, while Marion searches for her. April's life is recounted in flashbacks as she meets people and visits places that are significant to her.

Bringing Up Baby is a four-part British television documentary series which compares three different childcare methods for babies: the Truby King method, the Benjamin Spock approach, and the Continuum concept. Each method was advocated and administered by a nanny for two families each. The series was controversial when it aired on Channel 4 in 2007, particularly due to the actions recommended by Truby King advocate Claire Verity, and questions over Verity's qualifications.

Kewpie doll effect

The Kewpie doll effect is a term used in developmental psychology derived from research in ethology to help explain how a child's physical features, such as lengthened forehead and rounded face, motivate the infant's caregiver to take care of them. The child's physical features are said to resemble a Kewpie doll.

Prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE), theorized in the 1970s, occurs when a pregnant woman uses cocaine and thereby exposes her fetus to the drug. Babies whose mothers used cocaine while pregnant supposedly have increased risk of several different health issues during growth and development.

<i>Supernanny</i> British television programme

Supernanny is a British reality television programme about parents struggling with their children's behaviour, mealtime, potty training, etc. The show features professional nanny Jo Frost, who devotes each episode to helping a family where the parents are struggling with child-rearing. Through instruction and observation, she shows parents alternative ways to discipline their children and regain order in their households. Frost is a proponent of the "naughty chair" theory of discipline and is strictly opposed to smacking.

In the Club is a British drama television series that was first broadcast on BBC One on 5 August 2014. The series follows six couples who attended a local Parent Craft class during their pregnancy. The series was written and created by Kay Mellor. A second series was commissioned in 2014 and broadcast in the UK from 3 May to 7 June 2016.

Joyce Robertson British psychiatric social worker (1919–2013)

Joyce Robertson was a British psychiatric social worker, child behavioural researcher, childcare pioneer and pacifist, who was most notable for changing attitudes to the societally acceptable, institutionalised care and hospitalisation of young children, that was prevalent. In the late 1940s Robertson worked with Anna Freud first at the Well Baby Clinic and later in the Hampstead Child Therapy Clinic. She was later joined by her husband James Robertson. In 1965, both of them moved to the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations to work with John Bowlby on the Young Children in Brief Separation project and the development of attachment theory. This was to research the mental state and psychological development of children who underwent brief separation from their parents. Later in her career, Robertson worked with her husband to produce a series of celebrated documentary films that highlighted the reaction of small children who were separated from their parents. These were shown in hospitals, foster care and state run hospitals. Later she was known for promoting the idea of foster care instead of residential nurseries.

References

  1. Mother knows best — but does Gina Ford know better?, The Times , June 29, 2009
  2. Asthana, Anushka (4 March 2007). "Baby guru's method 'like dog training'". The Guardian . London.
  3. Kim, Pilyoung; Leckman, James F.; Mayes, Linda C.; Newman, Michal-Ann; Feldman, Ruth; Swain, James E. (30 September 2009). "Perceived quality of maternal care in childhood and structure and function of mothers' brain". Developmental Science. 13 (4): 662–673. doi:10.1111/j.1467-7687.2009.00923.x. PMC   3974609 . PMID   20590729.
  4. Daddy knows best, Nick Clegg tells Gina Ford, The Sunday Times , January 10, 2010
  5. Queen of Routine lashes out at her liberal childcare critics, The Guardian , February 26, 2007
  6. BBC's "Big Brother" show for babies ends in tears, Independent on Sunday , February 13, 2005
  7. Five Life Commissions Gina Ford Documentary Easier.com
  8. Babycare guru demands closure of 'defamatory' site, The Register , 9 August 2006
  9. Mumsnet settles with Gina Ford over defamation claims
  10. TV nanny Claire Verity criticised by rival, The Daily Telegraph , 08 Oct 2007