A Lot of Joy, Not so Much Fun: A Book for Parents to Read

The 20^th century was an epoch of a rapid evolution in various scientific fields as well as in the sphere of human relations. Among many other things, the concept of parenthood was completely and absolutely changed during this period of time. If earlier children usually weren’t the most honored members of the family and were rather viewed as additional sources of economic and moral prosperity of a household, it was at the end of the 20^th century, when such attitude was switched to a whole different approach. Now one could put it this way: the family exists for the sake of children and not otherwise.

No Guide to Follow

There are many different books written on the topic of modern parenthood. There are professional psychological manuals as well as popular literature. And nevertheless, in spite of the great number of works about parenting and the tremendous amount of research, raising children is still a piece of hard work without any decent univocal guide to follow. No matter how many modern and relatively old books you have read, your interaction with a child will be a unique experience, and most possible, it will require an absolutely personal approach. Still, there are some works of modern literature that might give you a hint on difficulties and joy of parenthood.

All Joy and no Fun

In order to write her first book, Jennifer Senior, who is a contributing editor at New York magazine, interviewed diverse families: it’s impossible to call them typical, for families always vary somehow, at the same time there is nothing extraordinary about them. Her work, “All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood”, consists of snapshots rather than long-lasting musings and analysis, but these snapshots are what makes readers think and analyze. The writer has accomplished a thorough research from both psychological and philosophical points of view and thus summed up many interesting facts on parenting.

In the End Nothing Else Matters

So, in her work on raising children, Jennifer Senior remarks:

1. Children are definitely disadvantageous economically, but they bring an astounding emotional experience to their parents, which exceeds anything they have ever lived through before.
2. Children rather feel than think, and adults need to get used to it to make parenting process successful.
3. Children influence relationships of adults more than anything else, including money, annoying habits, hobbies and sex. They might improve your relationship or destroy it – it all depends on your approach.
4. At present, you may find many things that will be more interesting than communication with your child. But in the end, when you live your life through and look back, nothing matters more than children.