具体描述
What difference does it make in people s lives
when they become parents for the first time?
In a systematic comparative study of the
timing of parenthood, the authors inter-
viewed eighty-six coupies-mothers and
fathers together who had their first child at
about twenty, or thirty, or forty years old.
Setting aside the issue of teenage parenthood,
which has its own particular complexity, this
book explores the developmental signifi-
cance of the timing of parenthood in adult
lives.
Drawing on the experience of parents in
different family stages and from diverse
backgrounds, Sooner or Later is about the
relevance of timing both in the beginning
and at subsequent moments in parents and
children s lives. The question here is not
"whether?" but "when?" and how does the
"when" work out across the life cycle? How
does the timing of parenthood affect mar-
riages as couples make room for their first
child ? As they enlarge the nest to include a
second child? What are the implications for
the ways in which women and men integrate
the pleasures and cares of family life with the
pleasures and cares of their work in the
world? What difference does it make to be
"older" or "younger" when children leave
home?
Parenthood affects us in profound and par-
ticular ways. This book is for parents of both
sexes and all ages and for everyone con-
cerned with the complexities of adult life.
