Canadian Social History

American pediatrician whose work changed child and family dynamics in the 1950s and 1960s. His most well known book, Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care sought to address the concerns about juvenile delinquency during the 1950s. Families whose parenting skills had been severely undermined by the drive for conformity during the 1950s, turned to Spock’s book for advise and reassurance.

Juvenile delinquency refers to antisocial or illegal behavior by children or adolescents. In Canada, juvenile delinquency became tied to social and moral concerns after World War II.

Social commentators worried that hanging out at seedy cafes or in street gangs would lead youth to disorderly behaviour, crime, or “sexual delinquency.”

The deviant behaviour of teenagers threatened the “ideal society” of the 1950s, a society that desired stability and traditional after the upheaval of World War II.