Parenting and the Quality of Life - Term Paper Example

? Parenting and the Quality of Life Parenting and the Quality of Life Noticeable changes in American lifestyle, beliefs, and worldviews have influenced significantly on the perceptions of groups and individuals regarding the matter of having children. Although many sociologists attribute these changes to forces of secularization and renewed clamor of freedom outside the family structure, there are compelling reasons that suggest a general lack of interest in children among young couples and individuals who wish to begin families. One common impression is that children deny people the opportunity to fully explore the important aspects of life due to increased responsibilities and other problems associated with parenting. Although normative assumptions attach some kind of fulfillment in having children, there seems to be a determined attention to the pursuit of material gains and other aspects of success, which seem to eclipse the relevance and interest in children among ordinary Americans. Kimata (2008) observed that there are significant differences in family perceptions between immigrant groups and Native Americans. Immigrant cultures tend to adopt conservative views on family values as opposed to Americans who choose to embrace liberal values and practices with regard to matters of family. Immigrant cultures and groups are guided by the conventional views, which promote the existence of a three-tier family unit comprising of a father, mother, and children. Such beliefs are anchored within the cultural and social practices as understood within the conceptualization framework of the society. On the hand, the American family values have transformed in ways that seem to embrace the union of couples without necessarily involving children within the broad agenda. While other cultures weigh the question of family and child rearing from the perspective of social obligations, American social values emphasize more on the romantic aspects of a family unit. It is for this reason that Kimata (2008) argues that the American family values are held captive by trends and forces of freedom, which determine the manner in which the families are organized. Within this perspective, children are not fully appreciated as the society increasingly embraces aspects of life that morph into their chosen values of liberty. Harper (2000) argues that a significant section of the American population expresses little interest in matters of having and rearing children. The general feeling is that children pose challenges of healthcare, education, and family stress. These challenges are regarded in cumulative terms as social stressors, with individuals and groups exploring all possible ways of lessening the impacts of the stress. Generally, individuals who adopt these perceptions tend to avoid children within their perceptions of a family set-up. Marriages and relationships, according some social theorists, are meant to promote company and happiness. Therefore, couples are encouraged to adopt approaches that are necessary in shielding them from the potential losses of happiness. Children should only be embraced to the extent to which they contribute to the general happiness of the couple. The support and increasing interest in gay relationships may serve to illustrate a determined shift by Americans from the conventional and customary rules that seem to support the family unit as opposed to other kinds of family support. In essence, it might be argued that the contributions of the family unit to the challenges that afflict the American modern society are related to the aspect of having children. In essence, some of the issues that affect the family unit could be understood in terms of the differences in the approaches meant to safeguard the family unit. Socio-economic and cultural factors have significant influences on the family structure particularly from the dimension of having children. According to Luster and Okagaki (2005), parenting involves a range of challenges that affect the interests of the children and parents in different ways. Environmental challenges related to the aspect of parenting put children at the risk of social and physical dangers while parents incur the stress of shielding the children from these dangers. In essence, parenting involves the manipulation of various factors that guide and regulate the interests of the parties involves. As a result, the parents are denied the opportunity to engage in matters of self-advancement. According to Luster and Okagaki (2005), the stress derived from parenting will often tend to filter down in the form of unstable family units, which raises the possibility of family break ups and other negative implications of parenting. It is important to consider the fact that the American family unit has faced significantly higher levels of stress as compared to other family structures. For instance, it might be necessary to consider that fact that the average American family is three times more likely to break up than a British or German family, (Luster and Okagaki, 2005). An awareness of the risk of family disintegration has always informed approaches meant to safeguard the psychological impact on the minds of the growing children. Generally, forces that work within the broader society regulate the family unit. These forces determine the manner in which families are structured. They represent the conceptualization scheme of the family unit. In essence, the same forces regulate the value that families attach to children. In essence, the same forces are guided by multiple factors that situate the general aspect of parenting within the context of environmental challenges. Some of the issues that attend to the family unit are determined by the levels of awareness and the belief that children must be part of the family structure. The emergence of liberal family views has always been interpreted in terms of the inability of the family structures to articulate the concerns of the individuals and the need to adopt more flexible approaches to the question of environmental concerns versus the welfare of the children. Understanding the discourse of child rearing could be understood better from the dimension of ethnic values. Different ethnicities are likely to adopt radically opposed approaches on the question of having children. For instance, some of the values associated with the discourse of having children are necessarily tied on the internal challenges that are peculiar to the specific ethnicities. Past surveys that seek to explore more deeply into the challenge of parenting have identified the African Americans and Mexicans as some of the most unstable ethnicities regarding the question of parenting (Luster and Okagaki, 2005). The African American communities are associated with the high risk of single parenting. Women-led households are a common feature within the African American cultural set-up (Luster and Okagaki, 2005). On the other hand, the Mexicans are associated more with frequent family conflicts that eventually end up in disintegration. In both cases, children are significantly affected. However, the African Americans and the Latinos have a strong attachment to children and will tend to embrace the practice of having children as opposed to the white Americans (Luster and Okagaki, 2005). As such, the value attached to children varies significantly along racial lines. The result of this variation could be understood from the perspective of children and the processes of assimilation into the social values and normative practices. From this perspective, it might be argued that children represent an important cultural symbol to some sections of the American population. Such sections can only express their happiness and feelings of completeness from the fact of having children. They do not regard children as an inhibition to their welfare. Instead, they consider children as some symbol of individual and communal success, which makes them to explore all possible ways that could help them achieve some significant sense of fulfillment as understood within the family structure. Some studies have sought to understand the process of child rearing from the perspective of gender and social roles (Huntington, 2005; Tipton & Witte, 2005). The relative responsibilities shared between men and women are important considerations that determine the nature of attachment and appreciation that is placed on children. An appreciation of the differences attached to the values and roles attached to children could begin from the understanding of the diverse nature of the American society. The American society does not adopt homogenous approaches to matters of general interest. As such, the different communities have diverse gender structures as understood from the perspective of gender and identity. On this score, it is possible for one side of the gender divide to experience more children-related pressure than the other gender. In most cases, the women incur much of the pressure. There is often the feeling that the identity and self-expression of women is significantly compromised by their roles as mothers. Having children usually denies them the chance to express themselves in ways that would promote their identities outside the domestic space. In this regard, parenting becomes a burden to women in the sense that it commits them to the gender ascribed roles of motherhood to an extent that denies them the opportunity of fulfilling themselves and expressing their worth in ways that represent their individualism. Women have to lose themselves in order to acquire new definitions as mothers within the process of parenting. On the other hand, the gender roles assigned to men within the American society does not tie them completely to the process of parenting. The shift in the dynamics of empowerment and trends of upward mobility among the women folk is to be understood as an advantage to the male gender (Struening, 2002). This is because women share into the responsibilities of the men while still serving their own responsibilities. The result is a disequilibrium in which the process of having children represents a double jeopardy for the women folk. A precise understanding of the differences that affect parenting could be appreciated from the point of view of the various processes that engage with the matter of social units. A family is often considered as a fundamental unit of the society. Proponents of a three-tier family structure often contend that the absence of children from the family structure would essentially disrupt the social set-up. Having children, according to some sociologists, completes the natural identity of an individual. Some communities attach an element of religious significance to the general process of having children. According to such communities, children and God-given and must be regarded in terms of some form of attachment with the deity. Such an understanding promotes some sense of fulfillment and happiness. Such values are likely to be articulated by sections of the American society, which express higher levels of religiosity within their appreciation of reality (Heinemann, 2012). Such appreciations are normally regulated at the psychological level. The appreciation of the non-material values of the society is usually regarded in terms of the sum total of influences that articulate within the completion of an individual. In this regard, it becomes necessary to consider some of the fundamental aspects of the society, which relate to the general essence of the society. It is important to consider the fact of having children within the various discourses that relate to the concept of child rearing. Issues of gender, cultural factors, religious inclinations, and individual preferences are some of the issues that have emerged in the recent past to affect the social duties of having children. Structural and institutional challenges have emerged to engage the question of parenting from diverse angles. The secular and liberal forces that have taken shape within the American culture have also contributed significantly to the views of Americans regarding the question of happiness. Generally, some of the issues that attend to this question are related to the changing dynamics of the American cultural worldview. Changes in worldview are occasioned by the pursuit of individual success, happiness, and personal fulfillment. Perceptions on parenting, which are guided by religion often, come into conflict with the material and liberal culture of the American society. Within the liberal framework, matters of sexuality should be understood primarily within the context of pleasure. In essence, children should not be the obvious outcome or objective between heterosexual unions. Instead, children should be regarded as options or additions within the understanding of the religious factors. It becomes necessary to consider the various impacts of the liberal culture in terms of the current statistics, which indicate high rates of family breakdowns and general fragmentation within the American family structure. In essence, it would be equally important to examine other more stable societies in terms of their appreciation of family values from the perspective of children. The liberal structure has transformed itself into some form of a superstructure, which interprets perceptions of happiness as understood within the American culture. Some of the issues that relate to the issues of parenting also mesh into the democratic philosophies of the societies. America bills itself as a bastion of freedoms and liberties. It is one of the places on the globe where matters of marriage, family, and relationships are highly liberalized, and anchored within individual rights and preferences. As a result, various approaches have emerged regarding the essence of good living. These interpretations are considered within the rights of individuals to lead the kind of lives that are regulated by the American principles of democracy. These principles are consistent with some of the values that attach onto the essence of happiness. The liberal culture actively supports the reinterpretation of values, and redefinition of norms in ways that accord with the desire for self-fulfillment as understood within the context of liberty. These beliefs also involve the perception that children pose challenges of achieving the kinds of success that are meshed within the American dream. The ideals constructed within the American dream could be understood in terms of a biased pursuit of material gains and superficial glories of fame as opposed to values and norms. As such, children do not form part of the objectives since few people embrace the values enshrined within the normative assumptions of family. Critics of American cultural trends contend that the emerging patterns are inimical to the future survival of the American society. This is because societies come under threat when the conventional family structure is threatened. Other critics contend that the emerging patterns are purely generational and capture the views of an emerging crop of individuals who are inclined more on the pursuit of material benefits than family structures. Naturally, children represent continuity. They form important links between the present and the future. As, such their place in the society is considered as fundamental to the welfare of the current and future generation. Therefore, parenting should be considered as a moral duty. Other critics have pointed out matters of health and pregnancy as some of the factors that affect the freedoms and liberties of individuals. For instance, there is the belief that the period of pregnancies usually inhibits the potential of a woman to achieve other aspects of life as understood within the American culture. Feminists continue to clamor for child-less relationships, which they argue would redeem the space taken away from women due to societal obstacles and other issues that relate to social duty. Radical views that oppose the roles of motherhood have fostered homoerotic discourses, which seek to redefine the value of children in the society. On this score, children have to be understood as the primary obstacles that inhibit individuals’ sense of self-advancement. Other dangers related to childbearing and child rearing are usually regarded in terms of their contribution to the subjugation of the rights of women. The rising preference of foster homes, day-care facilities, and other children related amenities outside the conventional family set-up is a clear indication of the growing preference of these homes by the American public. This reality illustrates some significant aversion to children by the average American adult. On this score, it becomes necessary to determine some of the driving concerns that lead people to prefer artificial organizations to conventional systems in the care of the children. As such, some of the issues that relate to the matter of child-care should be regarded as a sum-total of the social conditions, which regulate beliefs and practices within the family context. Such issues impact significantly on the social lives of individuals in terms of the appreciation of cultures and a growing preference of casual relationships over family values. Ultimately, the question of having children elicits various responses, approaches, and perspectives from different sections of the American culture. Perspectives on children are determined by various responses that are guided by individual concerns, societal expectations, norms, religious traditions, and influences. The fast-paced, highly liberal, and materialistic American culture often confronts the central philosophies that attend to the question of parenting. The evident collapse of the family unit and the stress associated with family responsibilities usually determine the kind of approaches that groups and individuals adopt regarding the question of children and parenting as understood within the American culture. References Harper, C., I. (2000). Opportunity and child rearing: relations among perceptions of society, socialization goals, and socialization attitudes in African American parents. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 2000 Heinemann, I. (2012). Inventing the Modern American Family: Family Values and Social Change in 20th Century United States. New York: Campus Verlag. Huntington, S., P. (2005). Who are we?: the challenges to America's national identity. New York: Simon & Schuster. Kimata, D. (2008). Perceptions of Child-rearing Practices and Discipline Among Japanese Parents in the United States. Oakland: California State University, Long Beach. Luster, T., & Okagaki, L. (2005). Parenting: An Ecological Perspective. London: Routledge. Struening, K. (2002). New Family Values: Liberty, Equality, Diversity. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. Tipton, S., M. & Witte, J. (2005). Family Transformed: Religion, Values, And Society in American Life. Geogetown: Georgetown University Press. Read More