summary ofAll Joy and No FunBook by Jennifer Senior

first KEY POINT

You can’t be prepared enough for parenting

The notion of parenting has developed and transformed for centuries. The families before WWII looked different than they do now. The lack of birth control resulted in large families where older children worked or cared for their younger siblings.Nowadays, life gets more demanding in the workplace — the pressure persists after 5 p.m. and on the weekends making parenting suffer tremendous turmoil. Many struggle to share responsibilities, parenthood, and work while maintaining relationships.Therefore, parenting has never had a clear-cut definition, and you can only imagine what it means to be an excellent parent. Most of those who have children can tell there’s a huge gap between reality and the things you fantasized about. And it doesn’t happen in the family context alone ; the human mind generally over-calculates and underestimates things.

Many parents-to-be read books and watch movies on parenting, but few can envision what happens next. They may feel frustrated, curious, or terrified by what they learn; optimists can experience a sudden urge to rush things and live through all the happy moments with their child. Raising a child is a complex, wholesome, and unpredictable process that offers as many worries and hardships as it does joy.Life gets more challenging when society predetermines what you must experience and do as a parent. For example, many feel pressured to start allocating finances for their child’s college right after birth. Or, some struggle to choose the best daycare, school, food, and even friends for their child to ensure their development. Thus, many parents risk neglecting their own needs and desires on behalf of their children.In this summary, you’ll discover parenthood’s principal aspects and challenges and how to make it more enjoyable with straightforward tips and facts.