Summary: Transition Into Parenting

The most distinctive trait of American family life, then the trait that differentiates it from family life in other western countries, is sheer movement: frequent transitions, shorter relationships. Americans step on and off the carousel of intimate partnerships (marriages and cohabiting relationships) more often. Whether an American parent is married or cohabiting or raising children without a partner, she or he is more likely to change living arrangements in the near future than are parents in the rest of the western world. It is consequential and we should be concerned about it, both as parents and as a nation, because it may increase children’s behavioral and emotional problems. Simply pu, some children seem to have difficulty adjusting to a series of parents and parents’ partners moving in and out of their home. It is not just parental divorces and breakups that are hard for children. Even transitions that bring a new partner or stepparent into the home can be difficult to cope with. Children whose parents have remarried do not have higher levels of well-being than children in lone-parent (a parent who is neither married nor living with a partner) families, despite the addition of a second parent. One reason is that new

As I was talking with Allie and Alex, a couple who recently found out they are having a baby, what is their idea of child rearing I was quite surprised by their reply. After much discussion, my focused for them were their idea of child care; whose is responsible for night time feedings, and the benefit of nurturing a newborn, and how the newborn will affect their relationship (Kaakinen et al., 2015). Allie, the wife, explained that she will be off work for 12 weeks with the baby and that the first two weeks her mother will be down to help. Alex, the husband, explained that his job did not provide paternity leave, so that he will be working every day, but did request two weeks of vacation pay to be home with his wife and child.

One thing that almost everybody will have to deal with at least once in their lifetime is parenting. In parenting, both parents are needed to make the job easier on themselves, their marriage and their child. In the essay The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was. by Hope Edelman, Edelman tells her experience with co-parenting. Edelman, along with many women, initially believed that co-parenting was possible. She soon figured out, however, that it was not a realistic goal. Some points that Edelman hits in the essay are the gender roles and societal expectations in parenting, being the nurturer versus being the provider, and how poor communication can ruin

Studies suggest that when the number of children in the home rise, and as the age of the youngest child decreases, there are more conflicts within the family. In establishing relationships with children, parents struggle to manage work and family, including having insufficient time to completely focus on both the necessities of work and family (Cichy, Stawski, & Almeida, 2012). Due to new job obligations, MJ experiences work stress independently, enhancing personal and financial stressors. There can be an adverse effect between job security and father-child relationship due to fathers striving to secure careers so they are able to provide for their family. As personal stressors are experienced more regularly, so are perceptions that one’s work obligations increase negative effects on their family life (Minnotte, Pedersen, & Mannon, 2013).

One psychosocial factor is the family’s socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic statuses has been researched to be on of the most influential factors in rather or not a family will succeed or face challenges, it can be a determinant in the development of mental health, physical health, and emotional health. A parent’s educational level, their occupation, and income could place the family in either a beneficial or hindering situation, in return, affecting the way a parent could establish attachment with their child. For example, a single parent raising their child and having to manage two jobs, could result in limited attachment to their parent or primary caregiver. Parental stress and their adverse childhood experiences is another psychosocial factor which can determine a child’s

The relationship between parents and their children is constantly adapting, beginning at birth. At birth is the point when the strongest attachment bonds form and parents strive to meet their baby’s every need.

one parent while living with the other, all create a challenging new family circumstance in which

One psychosocial factor is the family’s socioeconomic status. Socioeconomic statuses have been researched to be one of the most influential factors in rather or not a family will succeed or face challenges, it can be a determinant in the development of mental health, physical health, and emotional health. A parent’s educational level, their occupation, and income could place the family in either a beneficial or hindering situation, in return, affecting the way a parent could establish attachment with their child. For example, a single parent raising their child and having to manage two jobs, could result in limited attachment to their parent or primary caregiver. Parental stress and their possible experiences of adverse childhood

Today, there has been a minimal amount of research conducted on infant-mother relationships, and their association with the entry of toddlers into nonparental childcare facilities. There also appears to be a lack of knowledge on toddler stress levels during this adjustment period. The current study was conducted in Berlin, Germany, where children typically spend about a year at home before they enter nonparental childcare. Due to this delay, researchers were able to ask questions such as:

What a majority of research has found about the role of a parent is that it is extremely stressful. (13) found that a lot of stressors came before even becoming a parent. The idea and roles of being a parent was enough to add stress too expecting parents. For women the biggest stressor was the role itself of becoming a new mother and for both men and women the social and gender expectations placed upon them also caused stress (13). Not only is the idea of becoming a parent stressful but the added stress of societal norms plays a huge factor in the way parents approach and feel about parenthood. (16) also attributes parental stress to the birth story. Dependent upon the parent’s birth plan and what they expect to happen during delivery and what actually

The early childhood years are crucial to a child’s development of skills necessary for success in school and in life. Data indicates that expulsion and suspension occurs in preschool at an alarming rate, and racial and gender disparities are of evident (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Asking a family to remove a child from a school or program, can produce lasting, negative effects for the child, as well as for the family. Expulsion should only be a consideration after all interventions have been attempted without success, and in consultation with outside professionals and the family (Lamont, 2013).

Every parent wants their child to succeed and will do just about anything to ensure that success, but not really knowing how to make their child successful is scary. What makes it worse is there is a lot of information out there about how to raise a child that isn’t really true. Chapter five talks a lot about the finding of the ECLS and what the data from it showed. Again conventional wisdom, in this case what factors of parenting affect test scores is proved wrong which isn’t very surprising. It made me think about what possible conventional wisdom I’ve heard which may be wrong. The ECLS data showed that there is still a black-white test score that stems from bad schools which is pretty depressing. I thought is was king of weird how it matters

During the years, single parent families have become a more common thing. This is starting to become a problem, because family dynamics can really influence a child’s life. According to studies it affects not only the child but the parents too.

Parents need to maintain the daily schedule. This is most difficult for the parent who does not have primary custody of the child. The non custodial parent must try to accomplish a schedule of their own that must include the needs and wants of the child. Depending on the work situation of this parent, it can be a quite difficult task. “The finding that decreased income was associated with higher divorce adjustment for men but not for women was inconsistent with findings that divorced women suffer financially to a greater extent than divorced men” (527 Plummer). With this fact, it is known that single-parenting affects a woman more heavily that it would a man. If the custodial parent is constantly trying to keep up with the demands of their job, this will affect how much time the parent and child will spend together. The attachment many children develop with their father by the preschool years makes them sensitive to changes in the amount of time they spend with him and interact with him. A younger child cannot always understand who their father really is. This leaves fathers feeling desperate for time with their child. When the father spends time with his children, he is liable to stretch the time they have together by taking the children home later, which causes stress for the mother because she has such negative feelings toward the father. This becomes “fuel” for confrontations with the father.

There is about a six week to six month period right after a child is born where forming a bond with your child is quite significant. This period of time will help the child with setting a certain healthy routine, getting the house set for the child, and adjusting to the new life in the household. The value of having both parents by the child’s side can make a difference in how the child is raised or even how the child may perceive their own life. There has been occurrences where people feel worthless without one parent in their life. The bond that you create with your family in those six weeks or so is important to uphold and will make for stronger families. Those children that have been