Taking Parenting Public

The Case for a New Social Movement

Contributions by Enola G. Aird, Allan C. Carlson, David Elkind, William A. Galston, S Jody Heymann, Wade F. Horn, Bernice Kanner, Juliet B. Schor, Raymond Seidelman, Theda Skocpol, Ruy Teixeira, Cornel West, Peter Winn, Edward Wolff, Ruth A. Wooden Edited by Sylvia Ann Hewlett, Nancy Rankin, Cornel West

Not available to order

Publication date:

18 February 2002

Length of book:

320 pages

Publisher

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

ISBN-13: 9780742521100

Taking Parenting Public makes a compelling case that parenting has become dangerously undervalued in America today. It calls for a new investment—both personal and public—into the work of raising children and argues that we are all "stockholders" in the next generation. With a foreword by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Cornel West, Taking Parenting Public crosses boundaries to bring together thinkers from diverse fields spanning the political spectrum. It features contributions from distinguished experts in economics, political science, public policy, child development, public health, history, and the media. While recent books have focused on working mothers or absent fathers, Taking Parenting Public is the first volume to take a comprehensive look at the common struggles of parents. These essays go beyond the usual calls for more and better child care and other strategies of 'parent replacement' to offer fresh ideas for 'parent replenishment,' ways of putting mothers and fathers back into the lives of their children not only as economic providers, but also as emotional and moral providers. For more information visit the National Parenting Association Web site.

Chapter 1 Foreword: The Challenge Chapter 2 Introduction Part 3 The Cultural Marketplace Chapter 4 On Rekindling a Spirit of "Home Training": A Mother's Notes from the Front Chapter 5 Empty Parenthood: The Loss of Parental Authority in the Postmodern Family Chapter 6 From Father Knows Best to The Simpsons—On TV, Parenting Has Lost Its Halo Part 7 The Economic Marketplace Chapter 8 The Economic Status of Parents in Postwar America Chapter 9 Time Crunch Among American Parents Chapter 10 Low-Income Parents and the Time Famine Part 11 The Political Marketplace Chapter 12 Political Trends Among American Parents: The 1950s to 1996 Chapter 13 Taxes and the Family: A Conservative Perspective Chapter 14 Observations on Some Proposals to Help Parents: A Progressive Perspective Chapter 15 Back to the Future: A GI Bill for the 21st Century Part 16 Building Public Will and Political Power to Help Parents Chapter 17 The Paths from Here Chapter 18 What It Will Take to Build a Family-Friendly America Chapter 19 The Emerging Fatherhood Movement: Making Room for Daddy Chapter 20 The Parent Vote Chapter 21 Fixing Social Insecurity: A Proposal to Finance Parenthood Part 22 Conclusion: Taking Parenting Public

Whether you're a feminist, a conservative, a liberal, or a troglodyte, you'll find plenty of new ideas in this volume to stir you up—both for and against. Together, these essays argue convincingly that effective parenting must be supported by a substantial public investment.