In the excerpt of " All Joy and No fun" the author Jennifer Senior tells us about the struggles of parenting with the negative effects of lost fun that come with parenting. Senior takes a look at parenting and some of the hassles of having children listing behaviors of parents trying to live up to the ideal of being the perfect role model for their children. In the story the author describes a situation where the oldest child of two is trying to play mind games with the parents. The child thinks he is doing nothing wrong as he fights with his mom to watch a movie instead of doing his homework but the mom was getting frustrated and upset all the while her oldest would not listen to her. Studies show that parents are less happy than adults without children. The differences in life satisfaction are small and not statistically significant. However the results of the of the study do indicate between similar demographics of adults who have children and adults who do not: The parents happiness are effected negatively. In addition mothers with children tend to be less happy than the fathers and single parents are the least happy. While it is true having children provides an unrivaled joy it also provides an unrivaled frustration. Many people have children believing it will make them happy when in all actually exactally the opposite is true. The act of child bearing may offer moments of transcendence but does not result in an improvement of well being overall. While it is true if one was to describe happiness as not just the act of having fun but what we have done with it parenting has it's rewards. To look at the argument philosophically rather than psychologically turns the debate. It could all depend on the individuals valuing moment to moment happiness over a retrospective evaluation of ones life, or vice versa. While it is true than parents may lead a less happy life than non parents studies also indicate that late in life only one out of every ten parents regret having families, while nine out of ten non parents regret never having children. To me it comes down to instant gratification versus the delights of nostalgia factored in with the individual. In summary happiness is a state of mind everyone seeks, however what results in one's happiness is as specific as the individual. Having a child may increase or decrease one's life satisfaction. The only real truth is the end result can not be predicted. I believe children are a joy and a piece of work. When you have children I feel you need to know that they are a handful before you take that step and dive into the cold water without dipping you feet on the shallow side. Children are joy because of those special moments you have but most people are so busy and worried to notice the special moments until they passed. Also people have to realize that children are a responsibility. You should not become a parent until you are ready to handle the responsibility mentally, physically, and financially. I agree with Senior, children make you less happy because they are a added responsibility, give you more to worry about and require constant care. With hard work comes great reward and it is for that reason I still believe that children are the greatest joy.
Lydia--
ReplyDeleteYour first paragraph here is the only one that's a summary (in your second paragraph you're starting to respond by giving your own thoughts). so you need to develop this summary a lot more by explaining more of what Senior has to say. First try to decide what her main point is. She does mention a lot of negatives about parenting, but remember that she's a parent herself. Is she saying that was a mistake she regrets? Or does she reconcile these negative things with a more positive view? If so, how? What does it all add up to? This main point should be the start of your summary.
Then you need to go through the article and find the main points that she makes. she writes about many surveys that were done. What were the results? Then she tries to explain them. What factors account for the survey results, in her view? WhenI went through and marked up my copy of the article, I listed about 9 factors (that may vary a little). You might want to look at the blogs of other people in the class who wrote about this article--there were many people who chose it--to give yourself some ideas, but definitely go back to the article and take notes.
A very minor point: refer to Senior's piece as an article or essay, not story ("story" seems to imply it is fiction).