Perhaps most revolutionary of all, he suggested that parenting could be fun, that mothers and fathers could actually enjoy their children and steer a course in which their own needs and wishes also were met. All this and much more, including a wealth of helpful medical advice, was delivered in a friendly, reassuring, and common-sense manner completely at odds with the cold authoritarianism favored by most other parenting books of the time.

With characteristic modesty, Spock never would have predicted the overwhelming success that Baby and Child Care would come to enjoy. He once admitted that if he had known that his editors were entrusting him with producing the most influential parenting book ever written, he would have replied, "I don't know enough." As it turned out, he knew plenty--Baby and Child Care was an instant success with parents and struck a chord with other progressive doctors and childcare practitioners. During Spock's long lifetime, the book would go through seven editions, be translated into 39 languages, and sell more than 50 million copies, making it second in sales only to the Bible.

As his celebrity grew in the '50s and '60s, Spock worked feverishly on behalf of children and parents. He taught child development at Western Reserve University (now Case Western) in Cleveland, Ohio, for 12 years, wrote many other books on childcare, and lectured around the world. He even had a television program devoted to the concerns of families. Dr. Spock had become a household name.

As the Cold War escalated and American troops were sent to Vietnam, he became a vocal political activist, speaking out for disarmament and against the war in Southeast Asia. To Spock, this was just another way of protecting the young people to whom he was so devoted. His political views made him unpopular in some circles and hurt the sales of Baby and Child Care, but he persisted, convinced that politics was an essential part of pediatrics. He participated in anti-nuclear demonstrations well into his 80s and 90s, and ran for President on a third-party ticket in 1972, speaking out on issues concerning working families, children, and minorities.

In 1976, he married his second wife, Mary Morgan, who became a valued collaborator. They traveled the country, lecturing and writing, and co-authored the memoir Spock on Spock in 1985. A man who witnessed the birth of the automobile as well as the Internet, Spock prided himself in keeping up with the times, a fact that's reflected in the many revisions of Baby and Child Care in which he incorporated the latest medical developments and dealt with emerging social issues such as working mothers, daycare centers, and single parenthood. Throughout his life, Spock remained a tireless and courageous advocate for children and families, and his legacy will remain a source of knowledge and inspiration for parents for generations to come.
 
Quotes:

All the time a person is a child he is both a child and learning to be a parent. After he becomes a parent he becomes predominantly a parent reliving childhood.
Benjamin Spock

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