Advice from Dr. Spock's 9th Edition: Less Materialism, More Nature

In the pantheon of parenting gurus, Dr. Spock appears to have legendary staying power. Nowadays, there are shelves full of niche parenting books, offering advice on raising twins or singletons, high-spirited toddlers and attention-starved middle children. But this week, the good doctor weighed in yet again with his generalist and commonsensical pronouncements. More than 60 years after the inaugural edition of Dr. Spock’s Baby and Child Care was published, the ninth edition hit the shelves.
Benjamin Spock died in 1998, so this most recent tome is the sum of Spock’s original content and that of similarly minded authors. At least half the book is still in Spock’s own words, but there’s new information on the importance of outdoor play and nature, on autism, ADHD, immunizations and raising children who aren’t so darn materialistic. The previous eight editions have sold more than 50 million copies.