Ms Penelope Leach – the ‘Ms’ is surely significant – is a 77-year-old psychologist and ‘parenting expert’. 37 years ago her book Your Baby & Child: From Birth to Age Five was a bestseller. With ‘parenting experts’ like her offering advice like this, what chance do fathers have of developing healthy bonds with their young children?
Her Wikipedia entry has the following commentary (with supporting references) under ‘Criticism’:
Leach has been criticized heavily for her view that only mothers can care for children. Criticism has focused on (a) Leach appearing to lack a grasp, perhaps because of unresolved trauma in her past, of how children see their fathers, the help that many fathers provide children in child care, and what children need from fathers, particularly those that live in the home and (b) Leach holding an authoritarian, unsupported opposition to child care and an inability to recognize its benefits.
