William Penton Sears is an American pediatrician and the author or co-author of more than 30 parenting books, most notably several in the "Sears Parenting Library." He is a frequent guest on television talkshows, where he goes by the name Dr. Bill. He and his wife Martha Sears, R.N., are among the leading proponents of the attachment parenting

Attachment parenting

Attachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...

 philosophy.

Biography

Sears was born in Alton, Illinois. His own father deserted the family, so one of his primary male adult influences was his grandfather.

Sears' residencies were taken at Children's Hospital Boston

Children's Hospital Boston

Children's Hospital Boston is a 396-licensed bed children's hospital in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area of Boston, Massachusetts.At 300 Longwood Avenue, Children's is adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical School, and to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...

and the Hospital for Sick Children

Hospital for Sick Children

The Hospital for Sick Children – is a major paediatric centre for the Greater Toronto Area, serving patients up to age 18. Located on University Avenue in Downtown Toronto, SickKids is part of the city’s Discovery District, a critical mass of scientists and entrepreneurs who are focused on...

 in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine

University of California, Irvine

The University of California, Irvine , founded in 1965, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, located in Irvine, California, USA...

, School of Medicine.

He is a medical and parenting consultant for BabyTalk and Parenting

Parenting (magazine)

Launched in 1987 by Time Inc., Parenting is a magazine for families published in the United States. In February 2009, the magazine became two separate, age-targeted editions: Parenting Early Years, for moms of infants, toddlers and preschoolers; and Parenting School Years, for moms with kids in...

magazines and the pediatrician on the website Parenting.com According to his biography, he has been a guest on more than 100 television shows including: 20/20, Donahue

Donahue

Donahue is the Americanized version of Irish surname Donohoe, which, in turn, is an Anglicized version of the ancient Irish name "Donnchadh" ....

, Good Morning America

Good Morning America

Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...

, Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey

Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...

, CBS This Morning, CNN

CNN

Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...

, Today Show and Dateline

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC, or Dateline, is a U.S. weekly television newsmagazine broadcast by NBC. It previously was NBC's flagship news magazine, but now focuses on true crime stories. It airs Friday at 9 p.m. EST and after football season on Sunday at 7 p.m. EST.-History:Dateline is historically notable for...

.

According to his website, in 1997, Sears underwent major surgery for colon cancer, followed by radiation therapy

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy , radiation oncology, or radiotherapy , sometimes abbreviated to XRT or DXT, is the medical use of ionizing radiation, generally as part of cancer treatment to control malignant cells.Radiation therapy is commonly applied to the cancerous tumor because of its ability to control...

 and chemotherapy

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....

.

Sears and his wife Martha have eight children, one of whom (Stephen) has Down's Syndrome. Three of the children have also become doctors, Jim (the oldest) (The Doctors

The Doctors (2008 TV series)

The Doctors is an American syndicated talk show airing daily in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Ireland, Sweden and Finland. It debuted on September 8, 2008. The hour-long daytime program is produced by Phil McGraw and his son Jay McGraw and is distributed domestically and globally by CBS Television...

), Bob (second oldest), and Peter. A fourth son, Matt, is currently studying medicine at UC Irvine.

Sears and several of his family members are distributors and spokespersons for Juice Plus dietary suppplements, which Sears promotes on his website. National Safety Associates

National Safety Associates

National Safety Associates is a privately-owned marketing company based in Collierville, Tennessee, best known for selling a line of water and air filters, and then the nutritional supplement Juice Plus, via multi-level marketing.-History:...

 (NSA), the company that markets Juice Plus, used testimonials from Bill Sears in advertisements promoting Juice Plus Gummies. In April 2005, the Better Business Bureau's National Advertising Division, in response to a consumer complaint, deemed that the ads misleadingly implied that the Gummies are low in sugar and are a nutritional alternative to fruits and vegetables. In response, NSA promised to modify its ads and stop claiming that the product was is “the next best thing to fruits and vegetables”.

As of 2009, Sears lives with his family in San Clemente, California

San Clemente, California

San Clemente is a city in Orange County, California. The population was 63,522 at the 2010 census. Located on the California Coast, midway between Los Angeles and San Diego at the southern tip of the county, it is known for its ocean, hill, and mountain views, a pleasant climate and its Spanish...

, and operates a private medical practice (Sears Family Pediatrics) in Capistrano Beach, California with his sons.

Selected works

• The Baby Book (1993)
• The Discipline Book (1995)
• SIDS: A Parent's Guide to Understanding and Preventing Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (1996)
• The Attachment Parenting Book (2001)
• The Successful Child: What Parents Can Do to Help Kids Turn Out Well (2002)
• The Healthiest Kid In The Neighborhood (2006)
• The Pregnancy Book
• The Birth Book
• Parenting the Fussy Baby
• The A.D.D. Book
• The Breastfeeding Book
• The Family Nutrition Book

External links

• Weekly Q&A from Dr. Sears on Parenting.com
• http://www.askdrsears.com/
• http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/parenting/04/18/par.checkups/index.html
• http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0205/03/ltm.01.html
• http://www.cnn.com/US/9810/15/best.toys/
• http://www.parenting.com/parenting/article/0,19840,671841,00.html
• http://www.drphil.com/shows/show/824
• http://www.smartspot.com/commitment/bio_sears/