First published 2014
Jennifer Senior tackles a question most parenting books ignore: how do children transform their parents? Rather than offering advice on raising kids, Senior investigates how becoming a parent reshapes marriages, careers, friendships, and identity itself. She draws on research from history, sociology, psychology, and economics to show how parenting roles have become more complicated and less defined over the past fifty years. Senior visits families across America, following parents from the early years through adolescence. She watches mothers and fathers navigate daily struggles and unexpected joys. Her research reveals both ancient parenting challenges and entirely new ones created by modern life. The book examines how children give meaning to adult lives while simultaneously creating stress and confusion. Senior focuses on the experience of being a parent rather than techniques for raising children, offering fresh perspective on family life today.
Genres: family, psychology, non-fiction, 21st-century, parenting, academic
Vibes: intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: family-drama
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
320 pages · Hardcover · Ecco