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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
informative
medium-paced
I loved everything about this book! The research the author gathered was not only interesting but presented in a very thought provoking way. It would be difficult for me to concisely explain why I loved this book so much but in general it was very validating, and put science and philosophy behind the feelings I am currently having and will have as a parent at various stages of my children's development. Not at all a parenting how - to book- but enlightening as far as how individuals construct their identities and experience joy in the context of parenting and marriage. This review makes it sound boring but it was really great and I could hardly put it down. I loved it and it has left me with many things to think about! I also love the title - what a perfectly true way to describe parenting at times!
funny
informative
medium-paced
A fun, compassionate, and even profound look at what happens to people when they become parents. I highlighted many passages, since they spoke so truthfully to my own feelings - and seemed to connect so many disparate thoughts I'd had about the whole business. Kind of a diet sociology report, written with lots of panache by a smart journalist. The most enlightening was the gender politics around childcare, and the power of Mom Guilt. The most fun - and entertaining - chapter was on the teenage years. Woe to us all! As usual, France is revealed as the land of milk and honey re: child-rearing - no wonder they managed to turn their declining fertility rate around in the late 90s/early 00s.
informative
fast-paced
THIS BOOK IS WELL RESEARCHED, MOVING AND PROFOUND.
If you aren't reading it with your heart, then you missed the point entirely.
If you aren't reading it with your heart, then you missed the point entirely.
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Informative, not cliche
Unfortunately I found this to be a little boring. It tries to balance personal experience (a variety of families with children of different ages, living situations, and locations) with pop psychology info, but honestly it's just not that interesting to read people's verbatim arguments with their kids. It really lost me in the adolescence chapter. Maybe if I had my own kids I could relate to it and I wouldn't be so bored.
Overall, a good review and well written. I didn't think it was super profound or novel, but a good read about the differences in parenting over the decades.
This is not a parenting guide, but rather a book about how parenting changes us, both individually and within our closest relationships. Senior’s writing is brisk, engaging, and smart, and reminds us that becoming/being a parent brings pain and joy in equal measure. To expect it to do otherwise is basically a misguided and ultimately doomed attempt to use our children “as antidepressants.”
One of the things I most appreciated about this book was the way Senior framed the research studies she mined. Let’s face it, there’s plenty of bad social science research out there. (As my college statistics prof used to say, the phrase “Studies show,” or even worse, “A study shows,” should immediately provoke skepticism, not credence.) Sample sizes may be miniscule. Results may be unreplicated or unreplicable. Terms are often so vaguely defined as to be meaningless. Surveys read more like push polls than unbiased research instruments. And “peer review” can mean that colleagues who share similar points of view sign off on each other’s shoddy work. I could go on, but my point is, Senior does her readers a great favor by noting the sample sizes of the studies she cites, and often noting their duration and something about the research design as well, without ever bogging down the narrative. This gives readers context for judging how much credence to give her supporting data.
One of the things I most appreciated about this book was the way Senior framed the research studies she mined. Let’s face it, there’s plenty of bad social science research out there. (As my college statistics prof used to say, the phrase “Studies show,” or even worse, “A study shows,” should immediately provoke skepticism, not credence.) Sample sizes may be miniscule. Results may be unreplicated or unreplicable. Terms are often so vaguely defined as to be meaningless. Surveys read more like push polls than unbiased research instruments. And “peer review” can mean that colleagues who share similar points of view sign off on each other’s shoddy work. I could go on, but my point is, Senior does her readers a great favor by noting the sample sizes of the studies she cites, and often noting their duration and something about the research design as well, without ever bogging down the narrative. This gives readers context for judging how much credence to give her supporting data.