TV Child Expert Claire Verity Questioned Over CV
“CHILD EXPERT,” states the caption beneath a picture of Claire Verity. She’s a baby expert on the Channel 4 series Bringing Up Baby.
There are 6.3billion people on the planet. Verity cannot reach them all but if she can just enable one or two to grow up the right way, her professional career will not have been for nought.
As the Independent reports, Verity says we should restrict cuddles to 10 minutes a day. Crying should be ignored. Babies should be left outside for fresh air. Another expert, let’s call her the Child Protection Officer, eyes Old Mr Anorak’s youngest bawling its eyes out in the pasture. She makes notes. With any luck, and a decent agent, this agent may make it on to the telly and instruct us in an alternative parenting lifestyle.
For now though we only have Verity, the self-styled “Cruella de Vil” of what she terms “the baby world”.
Says a spokeswoman for Channel 4: “Unfortunately, very early on in the series, we discovered in talking to Claire that [her CV] contained some inaccuracies relating to her qualifications.”
As it says on the website of Cunningham Management, Ms Verity’s agent website: “Claire is highly qualified with a Diploma in Pre School Practice, awards in OCN Maternity Practice and Post Natal Depression, a MNT in Care of Multiple babies, a MNT in Sleep Training, a MNT in Emergency Paediatric First Aid and a MNT in Breast Feeding as well as advising new mothers at local hospitals.”
Says a spokesman for Maternity Nurse Training: “This person never enrolled on any of our courses and as such has never been trained by us. We would like to make it quite clear that we do not in any way endorse the methods employed by Miss Verity in her work.”
Two other organisations, Aset and Goal, have checked their databases and can find no mention of Ms Verity, nor of Ms Bradley, the name by which she is registered on the electoral role.
Parents using the Verity Way must be frantic with worry. What now to do? Stick with the programme and risk getting it wrong? Wait until the new CV sent over by Verity’s agent has been checked? But how long to wait? Ten minutes?
How much fresh air is too much fresh air? And hurry up – the crying is making it hard to hear the telly…
Posted: 29th, October 2007 | In: Broadsheets Comments (6) | TrackBack | Permalink
