Generation NeXt Parenting

Babies as Bling?

I have many morning rituals that I like so well, I now know why God has allowed me to work from home. One of these includes my morning paper. Every morning I pour a cup of copy, a bowl of cereal, grab a piece of fruit, and open The Daily Interlake--Serving the Flathhead Since 1889.

I have to admit the opinion page isn't one of my favorites--since I mostly just like to read people's opinions that match my own. :-) But Ellen Goodman's column caught my eye, "Babies as bling? Parenthood, where is thy sting?"

Ms. Goodman quotes Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, co-director of the National Marriage Project who calls parenthood "a conspicuous source of anxiety and distress."

"Parenting, writes Whitehead, takes up a shorter amount of the expanding lifecycle these days, somewhere between a child-free youth and a child-free empty nest. So the culture that once though of adulthood and parenthood as synonymous no portrays child-raising as an unsatisfying timeout from fun."

Is that the way you think? I don't!

Goodman, of course, ties in celebrity parenting and considers babies as the new bling.

"The difference between being a celebrity parent and a civilian parent is probably the difference between working at Wal-Mart and Warner Bros. The stars get nannies and trainers, the rest of us get diapers and stretch marks."

While this is partially true, I also feel that "babies are in" because they are a living representation of Gen-X core values. We applaud stars who are taking time for family. Who are saying "no" to work projects to spend more time with kids. Or who have their kids on set with them, so they can spend as much time together as possible. Because in a smaller way, we are doing the same.

Once again, here's someone spouting their opinion with no concept of Gen-X core values. Of course, that's only my opinion . . . what do you think?

posted by Tricia Goyer @ 7:50 AM