Why Have Kids? cover art

Why Have Kids?

A New Mom Explores the Truth About Parenting and Happiness

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About this listen

In Why Have Kids?, Valenti explores these controversial questions through on-the-ground reporting, startling new research, and her own unique experiences as a mom. She moves beyond the black and white “mommy wars” over natural parenting, discipline, and work-life balance to explore a more nuanced reality: one filled with ambivalence, joy, guilt, and exhaustion.

Would-be parents must navigate the decision to have children amidst a daunting combination of cultural expectations and hard facts. And new parents find themselves struggling to reconcile their elation with the often exhausting, confusing, and expensive business of child care. When researchers for a 2010 Pew study asked parents why they decided to have their first child, nearly 90 percent answered, for “the joy of having children”. Yet nearly every study in the last 10 years shows a marked decline in the life satisfaction of those with kids. Valenti explores this disconnect between parents’ hopes and the day-to-day reality of raising children - revealing all the ways mothers and fathers are quietly struggling. A must-listen for parents as well as those considering starting a family, Why Have Kids? is an explosive addition to the conversation about modern parenthood.

©2012 Jessica Valenti (P)2012 Brilliance Audio, Inc. Parenting & Families Relationships Sociology
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It's very US-centered although it could be applied to how motherhood is seen in many developed countries. Books like this are necessary for people to make an informed decision when it comes to having kids. It's definitely reinforced my decision to not have them!

An honest view of what it means to have kids

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I was after a book which provides an unbiased discussion on the choice of having children, giving ideas and opinions on both sides of the fence. This book was more of a statement of the political and societal challenges facing American mothers at the moment. I’m sure it’s great if that’s what you’re looking for.

Misleading title and summary

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Finally found a book that makes me feel sane for questioning if I want kids

At last!

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This book explores the ways in which society and celebrities made being a mother difficult for the writer, citing examples of people who regretted having children, and states this to be a societal issue rather than a particular one.

It does not, in any way, explore the reasons for choosing whether to have children or not.

It could be a good book, had it a different title

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Just conflicting advice and why connection parenting isn’t the way forward. Don’t quite agree with many points

Not saying anything substantial

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