The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care - Revised Editions

Revised Editions

During Spock’s lifetime, seven editions of his book were published. Several co-authors have helped revise the book since the fifth edition. Since Spock’s death in 1998, two more editions have been published.

• Spock, Benjamin (1957). Baby and Child Care (2nd ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0671646699.
• Spock, Benjamin (1968). Baby and Child Care (3rd ed.). London: Bodley Head. ISBN 0-370-00271-7. OCLC 97196.
• Spock, Benjamin (1976). Baby and Child Care (4th ed.). New York City: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-671-79003-X. OCLC 173465714.
• Spock, Benjamin; Rothenberg, Michael B. (1985). Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care for the Nineties (5th ed.). New York City: E.P. Dutton. ISBN 0-525-24312-7. OCLC 11788917.
• Spock, Benjamin; Rothenberg, Michael B. (1992). Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care (6th ed.). New York City: Dutton. ISBN 0-525-93400-6. OCLC 25535213.
• Spock, Benjamin; Parker, Steven (1998). Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care (7th ed.). New York City: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-525-94417-6. OCLC 38965990.
• Spock, Benjamin; Robert Needlman (2004). Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care (8th ed.). New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 0743476689.
• Spock, Benjamin; Robert Needlman (2012). Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care (9th ed.). New York: Gallery Books. ISBN 1439189285.

Each subsequent edition of the book brings medical information up-to-date. Other revisions have emerged to deal with contemporary social issues, such as daycare and gay parenting.

In the second edition, Spock emphasizes in several new chapters the importance of “firm but gentle” control of children. He warns against self-demand feeding, a type of feeding that had become popular in the 1940s. Because parents were letting their baby dictate when he or she should be fed, some parents began indulging all of their child’s desires, resulting in unregulated sleep schedules and a loss of control for the parents. Spock clarifies in his manual that while parents should respect their children, they also must ask for respect in return.

By the fourth edition, Spock adapts to society’s shifting ideas of gender equality, especially after the rise of the women’s liberation movement and concurrent feminist criticisms about sexism apparent in Baby and Child Care. Spock changed every pronoun for the baby, previously referred to only as “he,” and discusses ways for parents to minimize gender stereotyping while raising a child. He warns against praising girls only on their appearance and notes the sexism present in a household where girls learn to do housework while boys play outside. Spock also continues to expand on the role of fathers and acknowledges that parents should have an equal share in child-rearing responsibilities, while also both having the right to work.

In the seventh edition, Spock endorses a low-fat, plant-based diet for children due to rising trends in obesity and Spock’s own switch to a macrobiotic diet after facing serious health issues.