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Why Have Kids?: A New Mom Explores The Truth About Parenting And Happiness (2012)

by Jessica Valenti(Favorite Author)

3.47 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0547892616 (ISBN13: 9780547892610)

languge

English

genre

Memoir & Autobiography

publisher

New Harvest

review 1: This book is poorly titled. That doesn't mean this book is a bad one. But the title draws a certain audience - people who are choosing to live child free. I mean, I am one of those people, and this title screamed out to me. The misnomer initially made the content of the book a little frustrating. "When are we going to get to the decision making part of having children?" I kept asking myself. If the title of the book truly matched the content (and also was inflammatory because, let's face it, that's what sells), it would be something like "Why Americans have parenting all wrong.""Why have kids?" is really about how the pressure of parenting is ruining parents and affecting children. I found the book thought provoking, and I also had so many moments where I practically screa... moremed "YES! Parenting sounds insane! This completely justifies why I don't want to do it!" However, the content is just as important, if not more so, for parents and people who want children. It forces us all to confront the unfair pressure on parents (especially mothers). Parents and aspiring parents need to read this book. I just don't think they will because they already have children or have made the decision to and are beyond asking "why." Instead, they will pick up a parenting self help book that perpetuates the societal issues this book challenges. "Why have kids?" strives to change our view of parents and parenting, unlike silly self help books that guilt parents and fan the flames of "mommy wars," which is only making parenting more difficult and unsatisfactory.
review 2: I enjoyed reading this book immensely because it has been quite awhile since I have read anything that is academically-focused, let alone feminist. With that said, the content of the book is not exactly what I expected, with a lot of reiterations of studies, blogs, and articles. In a way, there was kind of a lack of synthesis of all of the information included. At the end of the book, it's suggested that all of these factors lead up to the idea that America should be focused more on community parenting. Honestly, I was hoping for more of a focus on having children vs. being child-free and the statistics that support either choice. This book was certainly interesting, but didn't offer me exactly what I'm looking for. less

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