Week 3, Column 3
Anna Quindlen : Why Do We Pretend Parenting Is Easy?
Anna Qunidlen tends to discuss relevant and current subjects. Children always manage to be a hot topic and she composes many pieces on parenting, including her article Why Do We Pretend Parenting is Easy? This article addresses an issue many people do not think about everyday unless they are a parent, "why is raising kids the most important job we ignore from a preparation point of view?" (line 20). This question sounds odd, considering people prepare so much for a baby. Quindlen explains that more could be done to prepare parents including help and even classes fro those who need it, beginning with an excellent at risk preschool child study done demonstrating that the cortisol (stress hormone) in these children changed after their parents received a course on "consistent discipline without corporal punishment". They improved. The author offers a call to action of sorts to parents or future parents to band together and get advice on parenting from each other. As they say, it takes a village to raise a child. Her topic is relevant to parents obviously, but also those who do not wish to have children, as she points out the battle some face with peer pressure to have children and their struggles. Her article is informative as well as relevant in today's society.