The Future’s Dr. Spock's landmark book, "Baby and Child Care," with sales exceeded only by the Bible, remains an invaluable resource more than 50 years after its first edition was printed, a copious yet thorough guide to the pleasures of breast-feeding, bedwetting and baby bonding.
market
Parents' hopes and fears
By Scott Vogel
tied up in drive to find the
best stuff available for baby
Star-BulletinLike the Bible, most weary parents never get through the whole thing, tending instead to dip into the book in times of distress (e.g., stranger anxiety). And like that other great spiritual tome, Spock's volume never fails to provide great consolation, especially for parents facing the existential loneliness of a 3 a.m. feeding for the first time.
"Trust yourself. You know more than you think you do," the book begins, a valentine to parental instinct and self-reliance that is nevertheless negated by the ensuing 939 pages, which prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that you know far, far less than you think you do about everything from thumb-sucking to gender identification.
In this sense, "Baby and Child Care" is not unlike the baby products industry itself, now a $5 billion a year enterprise.
Even as it markets gadget after gadget as a mere supplement to the ministrations of mom and dad, the underlying message -- that parenting is a never-ending ordeal fraught with terror and confusion -- comes through loud and clear.
Fear, it seems, is the one thing every new parent brings home from the hospital, its first object -- fear of crib death -- later morphing into fear of childhood injury, then fear of developmental delays, and on and on. Increasingly -- this being America -- the solution is to spend one's way out of the fear, and the industry's contraptions of contentment are getting ever more elaborate and expensive. Helmets are being marketed to toddlers learning to walk.Baby monitors can be outfitted with infrared cameras, thus ensuring that the paranoid parent can -- from rooms away -- both hear and see that little junior is still breathing. Even the lowly baby wipe can now be placed in a warmer, thus avoiding the cold sting of a wipe against the bottom, not to mention the irreparable psychological trauma that could result.
According to one study, on average parents spend $6,200 on their children during the first year of life; of course, not all that money goes to superfluous products. Cribs, strollers and other necessities are constantly being redesigned in response to changes in consumers' lifestyles, which is why the New Baby Expo (this year's is this weekend at the Blaisdell Center) drew 12,000 last year.
Actually, that's not quite accurate. Many came for Hawaii's largest baby shower or the show's perennially exciting baby crawling contest. For every exhibit designed to assuage the fears of new parents (the American Heart Association will be holding infant/child CPR classes, the Hawaii Poison Center will present an exhibit showing how difficult it is to tell a candy like Skittles from medicines like Tylenol), there's a lighthearted, fuzzy moment lurking on the periphery. Costumed animals from the popular PBS series "Arthur" will float among exhibits dedicated to such sobering subjects as shaken baby syndrome, and Scrubby Bear (an animated figure who's apparently dedicated his career to teaching kids about the importance of hand-washing) will be strutting his stuff not far from Dr. Robert Titzer's workshop on teaching toddlers to read. For Anna Lau-Parish, the expo's manager, the weekend represents an opportunity to showcase all things baby.
"We'll be having around 140 exhibitors," she said, "and we'll have several unique products that will be featured at the expo not seen or sold anywhere in Hawaii."
Cribs of every shape and size will be on display (including a triangular crib that fits in any corner, and a perfectly round crib designed by the wife of "American Top 40" personality Casey Kasem). Gozo strollers, which convert from single to double passenger in seconds, will also be featured, as will a tight-fitting receiving blanket with the completely appropriate name of Baby Burrito.
While none of this year's products is revolutionary -- there's no Diaper Genie in the bunch -- one of them is sure to pique the interest of Hawaii residents who spend a great deal of time airborne. Called Baby B'Air, it's a safety vest that helps protect lap-held children during plane flights. While the FAA has not approved its use during takeoff or landing, the Baby B'Air -- which attaches to a parent's seat belt -- does guard against injury during the remainder of the flight, when (according to the manufacturer) some 90 percent of all injuries take place.
And if all the talk of bodily harm is getting you down, by all means head over to the baby crawling contest, which is sure to see some of the most gleeful competition in town. That's not to say that the heats won't be fierce, however.
"People bring their remote controls, their telephone, baby bottles, key rings, anything to entice their child to crawl," said Lau-Parish. "I think some of them are practicing (at home) too." She's even suspicious that some couples are planning their pregnancies around this fourth annual event. After all, the race is only open to children who can crawl but not walk (a three-month window for most babies). Prizes, should your little one be interested, include generous gift certificates to local stores -- not bad for a 10- to 15-foot crawl.
More prizes are in store at the baby shower, where 500 pregnant women will vie for the title of Fastest Sippy Cup Drinker and Quickest Diaper Changer. But never fear, no one goes home a loser. Each expectant mother will receive a gift bag.
It will all be small consolation, no doubt, to the first-time mom who doubts her own caregiving capabilities, and who finds herself flooded with consumer choices. (Spock's book identifies more than 50 items that every new parent should buy.) Conspicuous consumption, it seems, is one of the first things we teach our babies. For better or worse, it's part of the sentimental education of every American child.
When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday New Baby Expo 2001
Place: Neal Blaisdell Exhibition Hall, 777 Ward Ave.
Cost: $3.50; children 5 and under free
Call: 239-7777
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