'''William Sears''' (born c. 1940) is an American pediatrician, 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 philosophy.<ref>[http://www.attachmentparenting.org/faq/general.shtml#startap "Who started attachment parenting?"], [http://www.attachmentparenting.org Attachmentparenting.org]</ref>

==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 Boston and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. He is an Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,141064,00.html FOXNews.com - Asthma Out of Control in America's Kids - Health News | Current Health News | Medical News<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>

He is a medical and parenting consultant for ''Parenting'' magazines and the pediatrician on the website [http://www.parenting.com Parenting.com]  According to his biography, he has been a guest on more than 100 television shows including: Today Show and Dateline.

Sears and his wife Martha have eight children, one of whom has Down Syndrome.  Three of the children have also become doctors, "Dr. Jim" (the oldest), "Dr. Bob" (second oldest), and "Dr. Pete." A fourth son, Matt, is currently studying medicine at UC Irvine. 

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

'''William Sears''' (* 1940 in Alton, Illinois) ist ein US-amerikanischer Arzt der Kinderheilkunde.

Sears ist ''Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics'' an der University of California, Irvine<ref>[http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,141064,00.html FOXNews.com - Asthma Out of Control in America's Kids (englisch)]</ref>, School of Medicine. Er hat mit seiner Frau Martha, einer ausgebildeten Krankenpflegerin, die Erziehungsphilosophie Attachment Parenting<ref>[http://www.attachmentparenting.org/faq/general.shtml Attachmentparenting.com - "Who started attachment parenting?" (englisch)]</ref> (etwa: ''Erziehung durch Zuneigung'') geprägt.

Nach seinem Studium hat er sich an der Kinderklinik der Harvard Medical School in Boston und dem Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto weitergebildet. Er trat in vielen amerikanischen Fernsehshows als ''Dr. Bill'' auf, etwa bei ''Oprah Winfrey'', ''Good Morning America'' oder auch ''CBS This Morning''. Dabei wurde und wird er zu den Themen ''elterliche Erziehung'' und ''Attachment Parenting'' eingeladen. Zudem ist er auch Berater für Medizin und Erziehung bei den Magazinen ''Baby Talk'' und ''Parenting'', sowie der betreuende Kinderarzt der Website Parenting.com.

1997 unterzog sich Sears einer Darmkrebs<nowiki></nowiki>operation, gefolgt von Strahlen- und Chemotherapie.

William und Martha Sears sind Eltern von acht Kindern, von denen eines das San Clemente, Kalifornien, wo er auch lebt.