Babysitting and All That saw its first light as a
humorous account of the bane of young females in high
school, namely, babysitting.
However, the demands of Olivia's academic career
postponed it to more than ten years after she left
school, and when the father-daughter team eventually
got around to writing the book, after many years of
study in various fields, it developed into a work of
much wider scope.
The book embraces recent studies regarding the mental
capacity of babies at birth, the profound effects the
wonder of new life has on the very new parents, the
selection of features and traits in primates and
hominids such as dimorphism and grooming behaviour,
and the role of various hormones in the procreation
cycle. Indeed, through her studies in these fields
Olivia unravelled the biological basis of love and
romance.
Fresh and provocative views are offered of the
procreation cycle and the role procreation has always
played in shaping the vagaries of the malleable human
psyche. Special attention is also given to the
desperate but misguided attempts of do-gooders
throughout known history to undo and disparage many of
the more meaningful consequences of the work of Mother
Nature on human development and human happiness.
The humorous writing style, in addition to the witty
and clear expositions, marks the book as a
groundbreaking work in the popular science genre.
Knee-jerk reactions to a book of this sort should be
expected from those who regard themselves well versed
in principles of pious doctrine - if not in the basics
of sound reasoning - and who thus feel severely
threatened by the concept of free expression of
thought. However, to thinking people the book
concludes with a message as well as a challenge.
Keith Andrews had the dubious privilege of raising two colic babies, which equipped him well for writing a book such as Babysitting and All That.
His experiences as Toastmaster and ordained minister in the Anglican Church, together with his background in biochemical research, stood him in good stead when writing the book. Olivia, his co-writer, editor, and inspiration, is a lecturer in psychology and animal behaviour science. She also did a fair amount of the research, and as editor proved a real pain in the neck as any editor deserving of the title should be.