Leach, Penelope (1937-)
Pediatrician and author.
Penelope Leach is best known for her popular books offering practical advice on child care and development for both physical and psychological needs. Leach attended Cambridge University and the London School of Economics where she received her Ph.D. in psychology in 1964. She was a research officer for the Medical Research Council, Unit for the Study of Child Development in London from 1965-71, and has been a medical editor for Penguin books and a research consultant at the University of Bristol International Centre for Child Studies since 1984. Her early research addressed the effects of various parental strategies and approaches to child rearing on the developing personality of the child. Later she investigated the effects of children on their parents as well as various aspects of adolescent development. She has brought her work to the public and to policy makers in an extensive series of popular press books and television productions. In her advice to parents, Leach advocates individualized approaches to child rearing, doing things "by the baby" instead of "by the book" (Leach, 1989). She is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society and an advocate for the support of children and families.
For Further Study
Books
Leach, P. Babyhood: Infant Development from Birth to Two Years. New York: Knopf, 1974, 1983.
——.Who Cares? A New Deal for Mothers and Their Small Children. New York: Penguin, 1979.
.——. Your Growing Child: From Babyhood Through Adolescence. New York: Knopf, 1986.
.——. Your Baby and Child: From Birth to Age Five. New York: Knopf, 1978, 1989.
——. The First Six Months: Getting Together with Your Baby. New York: Knopf, 1986.
——. Children First. New York: Knopf, 1994.
Periodicals
"British Child Psychologist Penelope Leach." Current Biography 55, August 1994, pp. 27+.
Kinkead, Gwen. "Penelope Leach." The New York Times Magazine, April 10,1994 p. 32.
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