All Joy and No Fun The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

Jennifer Senior — 2014

Thousands of books have examined the effects of parents on their children. But almost none have thought to ask: What are the effects of children on their parents? In All Joy and No Fun, award-winning journalist Jennifer Senior tries to tackle this question, isolating and analyzing the many ways in which children reshape their parents' lives, whether it's their marriages, their jobs, their habits, their hobbies, their friendships, or their internal senses of self. She argues that changes in the last half century have radically altered the roles of today's mothers and fathers, making their mandates at once more complex and far less clear. Recruiting from a wide variety of sources—in history, sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, and anthropology—she dissects both the timeless strains of parenting and the ones that are brand new, and then brings her research to life in the homes of ordinary parents around the country. The result is an unforgettable series of family portraits, starting with parents of young children and progressing to parents of teens. Through lively and accessible storytelling, Senior follows these mothers and fathers as they wrestle with some of parenthood's deepest vexations—and luxuriate in some of its fi nest rewards. Meticulously researched yet imbued with emotional intelligence, All Joy and No Fun makes us reconsider some of our culture's most basic beliefs about parenthood, all while illuminating the profound ways children deepen and add purpose to our lives. By focusing on parenthood, rather than parenting, the book is original and essential reading for mothers and fathers of today—and tomorrow.

Reviews

Pratik M@pcmhatre

Jun 26, 2024

Nice mix of research and personal anecdotes. Also, glad to know that I'm not crazy to be thinking some of things mentioned in this book. A great read for new parents and to-be-parents. Helps you stave off the rainbow-filled perceptions of parenthood that pop culture imposes on us.

John Manoogian III@jm3

Apr 4, 2024

While very well-written and thoughtful, the title is extremely apt. This book is nothing if not punishing. I put it down for nearly a year because I was just sick of it.

Safiya @safiya-epub

Jan 25, 2022

The book was all joy and fun. Tracking babies until they safely land from adolescence with an exhaustive set of data, facts and social studies...I was on the overall very suprised at the paradox of parenting, that is not dependable on your guts or comes naturally but is a journey of self discipline to find the right amount of involvement in your kids lives through their different stages. #mythbusters There are good insights that helped me understand adolescent's better (including myself), and that was a relief. To sum it up, duty is the key to successful safe rearing...

Kirby Drake@kirbster

Jan 10, 2022

Very accurate, and a little bit depressing. This is isn't my normal genre, but as a mother of 4 daughters it was very relevant. I came away feeling a bit frustrated because I didn't feel there were really any proposals on how to do better, just an analysis of the state of affairs. I guess that is okay though because it is resonating with me, and I'm thinking of ways I want to handle the realities that I was presented. I do plan to put in place more boundaries so far as not over doing activities, birthdays/gifts, etc. I also do involve our kids with chores so that they are contributing to the family, however, I still feel a bit lost on where to go next. All in all, very accurate and entertaining.