Discipline, routine and firm control were the essence of Trudy King's baby books published during the first half of this century. It seems inconceivable now but babies were fed to a rigid timetable adapted from a system used for feeding calves. Mothers were instructed to ignore their baby's crying and kicking because "it's only nature's way of exercising his lungs and limbs".
This documentary uses archive clips and interviews to give an overview of the various approaches to childcare: from Dr Spock, the first to "relax some of the severity", to childcare gurus Hugh Jolly, Penelope Leach and Bruno Bettelheim.
Today there are hundreds of manuals covering all aspects of childcare but perhaps, as Dr Spock says, "these days there are just too many choices."
Producer Hannah Lowy
Executive producer Amanda Theunissen