Young Australian Skeptics

In response to two very recent inquiries I had on my blog at PodBlack​.com, I’ve begun working a little more on links and directions for people thinking about raising a family — or even supporting younger people with skeptic resources (whether it be their own kids or relatives). It seems there is a slight ‘gap in the market’ in that regard — so hopefully some of this can spark some discussion and support. After all, even if you are not thinking about having kids yourself yet — you might like to send prospective parents a decent present that will help question those anti-​​vaccination claims (such as Jenny McCarthy’s dreadful interview in the most recent Women’s Day) and perhaps help you discuss why science is such a very valuable resource when it comes to children’s health.

A while back, Liz (blogger for Skeptopia, feminist and skeptic podcaster for women gamers with Natural 20 podcast — available on iTunes!) asked a question about good books for someone wanting to prepare becoming a mother; particularly in preparation for a young mum needing a ‘wish-​​list’ on Amazon​.com. Please note — this blog-​​post has an obvious Australian bias, since I am an Australian and so is Liz. But I hope this will help skeptically-​​minded parents in other countries to start brainstorming as well.

Since I’ve been in about maybe over a dozen bookstores over the past two to three months, I’ve been keeping a close eye on what’s been moving off the shelves and what the sellers recommend. In particular, I’ve been checking out which books are pro-​​vaccination, don’t give any credence to Jenny McCarthy’s claims about what causes autism (in short — she’s wrong — head to www​.immunise​.health​.gov​.au/!), are using references, cover a wide range of topics and are enjoyable to read on the topic of parenting.

Probably the most straight-​​forward to get: What to Expect When You’re Expecting — by Al Eisenberg; Heidi Murkoff; Sandee Hathaway.

This was the first book I was given when I started investigating becoming a parent, and there’s a reason. It’s comprehensive, matter-​​of-​​fact, has a lot of great references, a well-​​stocked index and isn’t afraid to feature all the really daft questions that you’re likely to have! In terms of being up-​​to-​​date, the most recent edition is fairly good (I thought the vaccination pages were more than fine in their comprehensiveness, but it doesn’t say outright that is isn’t linked to autism, just that there isn’t enough evidence). Ugly looking cover; try to get the most recent edition as you can.

Good, but a little prescriptive and traditional: Your Baby and Child by Penelope Leach and Pregnancy and Birth Handbook by Miriam Stoppard.

I still have flashbacks to when I was a kid and checked out bossy birth-​​guru Penelope Leach and thought ‘this looks like wayyy to hard a job, to become a parent — so many rules!’, but I should point out her books do have their supporters.The same by Miriam Stoppard’s text. They’re also really easy to find (I don’t think there was a single bookstore that didn’t have these on the shelves) and I should emphasise — get a recent edition. Second-​​hand bookstores are useful for some sorts of books (after all, I’m doing them as well whilst searching for that dreaded Jenny McCarthy book!) — but when it comes to texts that suggest advice, these people have a great reputation and are easy enough to find, in a up-​​to-​​date version at your local store.

Australian, new, rather small but handy — A Commonsense Guide for Australian Parents by Carol Fallows and Shayne Collier

Okay, it’s small, it’s more about the baby years than pregnancy (prepare for, rather than working on pregnancy) — but it’s really handy and easy to flip through. Absolutely no shrift whatsoever to anti-​​vaccine claims, alt med — in fact, it features none of those elements and has about three pages solidly supporting and debunking the myths about immunisation. Additionally features great references to local groups, Australian initiatives and has checklists. This is a friendly and straightforward read that I would probably use as a lighter reference text in comparison to the brick-​​like popular tomes.

I did notice that Carol Fallows, on her website, features ‘Having a Baby. The Essential Australian Guide to Pregnancy & Birth’, but I haven’t had the chance to check it out? If this other book is any indication, it’s probably worth checking out.

Useful and enjoyable to read — but still nods to alt med, chiropractioners: Up the Duff and Kid-​​Wrangling —  Kaz Cooke.

This book I first saw in the back of a car which touted a baby-​​seat — good enough start to recognise that it’s being ‘used in the field’! Cooke’s work on young women’s self-​​esteem has been a staple of many health-​​ed classes for many years (the website for Completely GORGEOUS features fantastic resources). Yet there’s some contradictions, despite her rather skeptical attitude towards paranormal beliefs in a book I’ve reviewed before for the Skeptical Books For Children series — ‘Girl Stuff: Your Full On Guide to the Teen Years’:

There’s no harm in having a fortune teller or psychic read your palm or tell your fortune — unless you run your life by it, or take everything as a definite. mediums, who claim they can recognise ‘messages’ from the dead, are best left where they belong — in movies and TV shows.

…think of your horoscope as one-​​size-​​fits-​​all advice that could apply to just about anybody, and just read the astrology columns for fun.

… Karma: … is often used by non-​​members of these religions as a warning… don’t interpret this to mean that if you have bad luck, or get sick, it’s your fault. It isn’t.

Although I know that she has dabbled in alt med in one book before, (which as I said, is kind of contradicted by other books like Little Book of Dumb Feng Shui!), the suggestions within these two particular books feature a strong support for immunisation, a list of medical facilities and generally give more of an emphasis on seeking the advice of your doctor rather than a natural therapist… although natural therapy suggestions do occur in the book. I guess I take comfort that gems along the lines of ‘Never assume “natural” or “herbal” means that something is okay to take during pregnancy, and seek up-​​to-​​date professional advice no matter what you’re told by friends’.

In an interview on another site, Natural Parenting, Cooke writes:

“Here are 10 solutions — pick the one that works for you. And if it becomes a real problem, here are some other books, or a website or video or phone-​​help service.”

I don’t know if you have similar tastes to myself, but if a book cover is too garish, it’s a bit of a turn-​​off. In the case of the books of Kaz Cooke, it’s certainly not something that should deter you from checking them out. Enjoy her stories too, as they are far more supportive and funny than anything Jenny McCarthy blags about!

Of course, there are links online, which are great for quick checks, networking and the like. First ones that spring to mind include:

• http://​raisingchildren​.net​.au/
• http://​mychild​.gov​.au/
• http://​yourkidsed​.com​.au/ — educational and brand new! Add your insights!
• Since Liz is in Canberra, ACT — http://​www​.parentlink​.act​.gov​.au/ is another good one and I’d strongly suggest that people check out providers in their state!
• Final suggestion — a new site called ‘Womb to Bloom’ is launching this month — do check them out at http://​www​.wombtobloom​.com

In the end, I would urge prospective parents to always get in touch with their doctors, feel right to question what’s best, find what suits them (as every child is different!) — and most importantly, get into networking and real-​​world support — because a book or a website (or even a blog entry) still can’t hug you in the end and say ‘it’s okay. They become teenagers, eventually, and teach you how to windsurf’.

Tags: babies, blogging, children, feminism, gaming, parenting, parents, Podcast, pregnancy, recommendations, Research, skeptic books for parents, skeptic parents, skeptical parenting, Skepticism, women and skepticism, women gamers

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 6th, 2009 at 3:53 pm and is filed under AVN, Australian Vaccination Network, Education, Kylie Sturgess, Meryl Dorey, Pseudoscience, Skeptic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.