Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Childcare guru goes to war over website - Home - Times Online

Childcare guru goes to war over website - Home - Times Online

Gina Ford, author of "The Contented Little Baby Book", has threatened court action against Mumsnet.com and demanded its closure. Why? Because members registered with the site have attacked her on the site's forum.

In her books, Ms Ford advocates a strict timetabled regime that must be adhered to at all costs. It is the antithesis of the baby driven approach advocated in the ante-natal classes we attended and preferred by the midwives and health visitors we have dealt with.

Ms Ford's approach is akin to putting your new baby into a bootcamp, devoid of empathy and intuition. At the risk of having her set her lawyers onto Blogger, in my opinion it is a kind of fascism in nanny's clothing: Nazism for newborns if you like!

It is also hard to have any sympathy for someone who threatens to shut down a worthwhile and helpful site just because of a few comments from members of the general public in a forum.

You can decide for yourself by visiting Ms Ford's website or reading her most famous book.