And so unfolds another episode of Channel 4's Bringing Up Baby, with the authoritative Verity explaining to a tearful mother that she must cut down on her screaming baby's milk feeds and hold back on physical comfort and eye contact.
Reluctantly, the exhausted mother agrees. The woman has, after all, submitted her child to a controversial reality TV experiment designed to compare childcare methods, and Verity espouses a rigorous routine.
Crying babies should be ignored, infants need to be left outside for long periods "to air" and cuddle time must be limited to ten minutes a day.
When one father asks if he can kiss his new daughter, she snaps: "No, I don't want you touching it!" This "baby whisperer" promises desperate parents the holy grail of baby care: her method will result in a newborn sleeping through the night within 24 hours.
These techniques and bold claims have made Verity, 42, a controversial figure.
Angry viewers have complained in their hundreds to the broadcasting watchdog Ofcom, accusing her of child abuse.
Children's organisations have made official complaints to Channel 4, claiming her methods are harmful and outdated, and she has been nicknamed the Cruella de Vil of the baby world and even been spat at in the street.
Verity prefers to style herself as an uber-experienced Supernanny To The Stars, claiming to charge £1,000 a day working for a host of celebrities from Sting to Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, and model Claudia Schiffer in a long career as a "maternity consultant".
Princess Diana apparently asked her for tips, Verity says, and she has had to turn down a host of famous names, from Tony Blair to Mel B, because of her busy diary.
Indeed, so close is Verity to celebrity parents that she claims to have had a romantic encounter with Rolling Stone Sir Mick Jagger within hours of taking charge of his newborn baby. Now, however, it seems that it is Channel 4 and the guinea pig families who submitted their newborns to her "expert" care who are in for a bit of a shock.
For last week it emerged that, far from being a qualified childcare professional, Verity could be something of a fraud.
When contacted by a journalist conducting an investigation into her credentials, the organisations where she claims to have obtained various diplomas could not find a record of her.
Verity, who does not have any children of her own, says on her official CV that she holds diplomas in child daycare and pre-school practice from ASET - a national awarding body that offers qualifications in vocational training.
But a spokeswoman for the organisation said: "There is no trace whatsoever of this lady on our database." She added that ASET did not offer a diploma in pre-school practice.
Maternity Nurse Training (MNT), where Verity claimed she gained qualifications in maternity practice, sleep training and paediatrics, also said that she did not hold any of its awards.
A spokeswoman explained: "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 Ms Verity in her work."
Suspiciously, the list of denials goes on. The agency Goal, with whom the blonde and heavily made-up Verity claims to hold a diploma in childcare, said it had no records of her.
DISCLAIMER: This posting was submitted by a user of the site not from The Insider editorial staff. All users have acknowledged and agreed that the submission of their story and its contents is in compliance with our Terms of Use.
Do you think Claire on "Heroes" will have issues in the future since she died during the eclipse?
Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Comments (1)