Myth and Reality of Co-Parenting
11 September 2012
The Myth and Reality of Co-Parenting 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 co-parenting. A major point that Edelman brings up in her writing are gender roles in parenting and what society expects each to do as a parent. Edelman says that coming into her parenthood she thought that if she contributed half of the families’ income, then her husband would contribute half of the housework and child caring (Edelman 284). She says that she did not want to be the dominant parent in the house and wanted more of a “shared responsibility” instead of one parent doing all of the care-taking and household duties (Edelman 284). She also talks about her parents’ relationship and parenting when her and her siblings were young. She says that her mother always seemed to do everything around the house, while her father only went to work, came home and sat around (Edelman 284). Her father did provide the families’ income; however, Edelman believes her father should’ve done a little more to help around the house (Edelman 285). Edelman also says that whenever her mother passed away the household duties never were done how they used to be and the house was just different (Edelman 285). After seeing this Edelman told herself that she didn’t want the same relationship her parents had (Edelman 285). Edelman says later that women start
The Myth and Reality of Co-Parenting 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 co-parenting. A major point that Edelman brings up in her writing are gender roles in parenting and what society expects each to do as a parent. Edelman says that coming into her parenthood she thought that if she contributed half of the families’ income, then her husband would contribute half of the housework and child caring (Edelman 284). She says that she did not want to be the dominant parent in the house and wanted more of a “shared responsibility” instead of one parent doing all of the care-taking and household duties (Edelman 284). She also talks about her parents’ relationship and parenting when her and her siblings were young. She says that her mother always seemed to do everything around the house, while her father only went to work, came home and sat around (Edelman 284). Her father did provide the families’ income; however, Edelman believes her father should’ve done a little more to help around the house (Edelman 285). Edelman also says that whenever her mother passed away the household duties never were done how they used to be and the house was just different (Edelman 285). After seeing this Edelman told herself that she didn’t want the same relationship her parents had (Edelman 285). Edelman says later that women start
Cited: Edelman, Hope. The Myth of Co-Parenting: How It Was Supposed to Be. How It Was. Glenview, IL. Pearson, 2011. Print.