Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness - Softcover

Valenti, Jessica

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1477800093 ISBN 13: 9781477800096

Publisher: Amazon Publishing, 2018

Synopsis

A provocative and intimate exploration of modern parenthood by“a gutsy young third wave feminist” – The New York Times

If parenting is making Americans unhappy, if it’s impossible to “have it all,” if people don’t have the economic, social, or political structures needed to support parenting, then why do it? And why are anxious new parents flocking to every Tiger Mother and Bébé-raiser for advice on how to raise kids?

In Why Have Kids?, Valenti explores these controversial questions through on-the-ground reporting, startling new research, and her own unique experiences as a mom. She moves beyond the black and white “mommy wars” over natural parenting, discipline, and work-life balance to explore a more nuanced reality: one filled with ambivalence, joy, guilt, and exhaustion. A must read for parents as well as those considering starting a family, In Why Have Kids? is an explosive addition to the conversation about modern parenthood.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

If parenting is making Americans unhappy, if it s impossible to have it all, if people don t have the economic, social, or political structures needed to support child rearing, then why do it? And why are anxious new parents flocking to every Tiger Mother and Bébé-raiser for advice on how to raise kids?

In Why Have Kids?, Valenti explores these controversial questions through on-the-ground reporting, startling new research, and her own unique experiences as a mom. She moves beyond the black and white mommy wars over natural parenting, discipline, and work-life balance to explore a more nuanced reality: one filled with ambivalence, joy, guilt, and exhaustion.

Would-be parents must navigate the decision to have children amidst a daunting combination of cultural expectations and hard facts. And new parents find themselves struggling to reconcile their elation with the often exhausting, confusing, and expensive business of child care. When researchers for a 2010 Pew study asked parents why they decided to have their first child, nearly 90 percent answered, for the joy of having children. Yet nearly every study in the last ten years shows a marked decline in the life satisfaction of those with kids. Valenti explores this disconnect between parents hopes and the day-to-day reality of raising children revealing all the ways mothers and fathers are quietly struggling. A must-read for parents as well as those considering starting a family, Why Have Kids? is an explosive addition to the conversation about modern parenthood.

From the Back Cover

Praise for Jessica Valenti

A gutsy young third wave feminist. New York Times

"Valenti s writing has a wonderful defiant quality reminiscent of the days of the movement s youth. Washington Post

"[Jessica Valenti] . . . dragged feminism into the 21st century." Guardian

About this edition

• Publisher: Amazon Publishing
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1477800093
• ISBN 13: 9781477800096
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208