Parenting: All Joy and No Fun?

Writer Andrew Solomon wrote an excellent review of Jenifer Senior's book All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood in the NYTimes Book Review. Here are a few notes of interest gleaned from his review:

• "In 1965, when most American women didn't work outside the home, mothers nonetheless spent almost four fewer hours a week than today's mothers do providing child care. Father's on the other hand, spend three times as many hours with their children now as they did then, but do better at keeping downtime reserved for themselves; they do not judge themselves the way mothers do, and experience few of the pressures that make women feel so guilty about being away from home during the workday."
• "Parents struggle through their children's teenage years both because of their changed relationship with their children and because of their changed relationship to themselves."
• "Senior demonstrates that there is no contradiction in this seeming paradox; she understands that tolerating children is the cornerstone of loving them."

You may want to listen to NPR's Melissa Block's interview with the author to gain some more insights into her book.

Speaking of Andrew Solomon, watch for my interview with him in the current issue of Montessori Life magazine.