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In fact, Deborah, a slightly shy and earnest but nonpsychotic young woman of 27, seems to have, survived the rumors rather well. Her 21 years in the box, she thinks, did her only good. "It wasn't really a psychological experiment," she says, "but what you might call a happiness-through-health experiment. I think I was a very happy baby. Most of the criticisms of the box are by people who don't understand what it was."
Though something like 1,000 of the air cribs are in use today, Skinner's idea has not caught on with very many parents and has yet to revolutionize child rearing.