Parenthood: The Whole Story

This ``guide to becoming a family,'' with we have finished book/pk 820 numbered paragraphs, each discussing a topic relating to pregnancy, birth or early childhood, is larded with treacly cliches and off-the-wall statements. Any woman who doubts whether she has a mothering instinct is asked if she ``could walk past a kitten crying because it is stuck up a tree.'' Mothers-to-be are advised that ``eight cups of coffee or tea in a day is probably excessive.'' Psychological theories are presented as fact: Einon ( Creative Play ), a psychology lecturer at University College, London, says that a little girl will believe that her penis ``has been cut off in punishment for her desire to replace her mother'' and states that ``If parents have been too harsh in potty training, the child may become harsh in her concepts of regularity: a slave to the clock, to having everything exactly so.'' Parents who are not strict Freudians would do well to look elsewhere for advice. Illustrated. (Feb.)