1000 Mothers Questions Answered

1000 Mothers’ Questions Answered (1990) – Davina Lloyd and Ann Rushton
Thorsons Publishing | ISBN: 9780722521694
Condition: Good | Sold by Crappy Old Books

Motherhood. That miraculous journey of love, joy, sleepless nights, mysterious rashes, inexplicable screaming, and the gradual realisation that the tiny human being you’ve brought into the world has absolutely no intention of following the manufacturer’s instructions. Fortunately, Davina Lloyd and Ann Rushton have come to the rescue with 1000 Mothers’ Questions Answered, a reassuringly substantial collection of answers to the sort of questions that have troubled mothers since the first prehistoric infant refused to eat its mammoth purée.

Published in 1990, when parenting advice was dispensed through books, health visitors, grandmothers and the occasional terrifying neighbour rather than seventeen contradictory internet forums, this practical guide belongs to a comparatively innocent age. An age when nobody had heard of a gender reveal party, children weren’t monitored by sophisticated electronic surveillance equipment, and parents could occasionally leave the house without carrying half a branch of Mothercare.

The premise is wonderfully straightforward: mothers have questions. Lots of them. A thousand, apparently. Why won’t the baby sleep? Why won’t the toddler eat? Is that normal? Should I be worried? Why does my child insist on putting inappropriate objects into inappropriate places? And, perhaps most importantly, will I ever enjoy eight consecutive hours of unconsciousness again?

Lloyd and Rushton tackle the bewildering business of bringing up children with the reassuring conviction that knowledge is preferable to panic. Their book offers a window into the anxieties, expectations and practical concerns of British parenthood at the dawn of the 1990s, when disposable nappies were firmly established, children’s television still provided a few precious moments of parental respite, and nobody thought to consult a smartphone every time a baby hiccupped.

Naturally, some advice from 1990 should be approached with historical curiosity rather than treated as the final word in twenty-first-century childcare. Medical recommendations, infant sleeping guidance and parenting conventions have changed considerably. Nevertheless, the underlying questions remain remarkably familiar, because babies have stubbornly refused to evolve into reasonable, cooperative members of society.

Beyond its practical intentions, this is a delightful little piece of social history. A reminder of an era when publishing a thousand answers seemed a reasonable way to help parents, rather than simply giving them access to another thousand opportunities to worry.

This Good-condition copy, offered by Crappy Old Books, is ideal for collectors of vintage parenting literature, social historians, nostalgic mothers, bewildered grandparents, or anyone curious about what counted as sound maternal advice before the internet decided that everybody was doing everything wrong.

A thousand questions, a thousand answers, and still no satisfactory explanation for why a child with forty-seven expensive toys prefers playing with the cardboard box.

Keep browsing: See more Non-Fiction books Other books by Davina Lloyd and Ann Rushton