Both books also reject a parenting style termed by Sears and others as "attachment parenting" which stresses parent-child bonding and usually includes demand breastfeeding and close physical contact.

Gary Ezzo would not agree to be interviewed for this story. He did answer several written questions with written answers.

A regional ministry official did discuss the program, but would not talk about medical issues.

Stressing that "God is a God of order" and quoting Biblical scripture that says "God is not the author of confusion" the Ezzos teach that demand feeding leads to a laundry list of problems including colic, unmanageable children and fatigue on the mother.

Responding to a newborn's cries immediately fosters impatient children who want immediate self-gratification, the Ezzos teach. As critics point out, the Ezzos' books offer few footnotes or medical attribution to claims that seem to run contrary to popular medical views established through years of scientific research.

Using the faith of students as the cornerstone, the Ezzos' map the right way of parenting as clearly as a car's owner's manual walks its owner through an oil change. More than 80 pages of the 220-page manual deal directly with infant feeding and more than 30 to infant sleep.