The enduring appeal of the super-strict parenting regime of Gina Ford

For some, she is a saviour. For others, pernicious. Yet 25 years after her first book was published, her tomes account for 25 per cent of the childcare market.

Arabella Byrne

Apr 5, 2024 – 11.12am

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I wanted to interview Gina Ford, one of the most divisive figures in child rearing, 25 years on from the publication of her bestseller, The Contented Little Baby Book, to ask her how she galvanised an entire demographic of parents.

Selfishly, I also wanted to ask her how to get my baby to nap for two hours at a time. But I couldn’t find her. All potential leads ran cold: Vermilion, her publishers, said that they couldn’t help, messages on X remained unanswered, the contact form on her website proved a dead end.

The Telegraph London