>> I have begun to feel that  Prep for Parenting almost certainly is a
fundamentalist Christian fad, that will most likely begin to die out as these
parents grow and mature. <<

>>Ah but here is the double edged sword- what about in the case of the
Ezzo's?  We are of course asking them to go against their firmly held beliefs
regarding their babies.....<<

I didn't originally directly address this issue, but as it comes more and
more to the forefront, I do see the need for us to scrutinize this carefully.
Do the Ezzo's proponents and followers constitute a religion?

The Ezzo's philosphy of infant feeding and childrearing first originated as a
sort of parenting bible study.  It sits within the boundaries of established
churches, though sometimes threatening the unity of these churches. Does it
represent a new religion? I hope not! But it certainly does represent a new
teaching within a religion, and it certainly is a man's philosophy enshrouded
by religious garments. I'm extremely reluctant to grant it the credence and
independence of a new "religion".

But beyond the original context of having arisen out of a religious
background, I also think it is important to understand that the philosophy
has also now extended to the secular world. I find this very interesting
because the philosophy was supposedly developed from a religious viewpoint,
but is now offered in a secular format as simply "common-sense parenting".
 BABYWISE and BABYWISE II have no religious basis, nor do many  of the
parents utilizing them do so with such an idea.  They view the Ezzo's method
as simply the latest and best advice on infants, and have no other agenda
entwined.  So in this respect it is NOT a religion at all.

Do we have the right to criticize?  At the very least, I think that we have
the right to let parents know that the Ezzo's teachings are NOT respected in
many professional circles, and why.  Had they been reading any other book
with outdated information, we would not hesitate to tell them respectfully
that their information is old and out of date, and where to find better
information.  We need to differentiate those doing the method for religious
reasons from those doing it for other reasons, and we need to approach each
group accordingly.  This is one phenomena that belongs in more than one
category, and that may require multiple strategies!

-Lisa Marasco, BA, IBCLC