The parenting section of the bookstore is overwhelming—it’s « a giant, candy-colored monument to our collective panic, » as writer Jennifer Senior puts it. Why is parenthood filled with so much anxiety? Because the goal of modern, middle-class parents—to raise happy children—is so elusive. In this honest talk, she offers some kinder and more achievable aims.
This talk was presented at an official TED conference, and was featured by the editors on the TED home page.
About the speaker:
Jennifer Senior is the author of All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood, which spent eight weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list. In October of 2015, she joined The New York Times as one of its three daily book critics. Before that, she spent many years as a staff writer for New York Magazine, writing profiles and cover stories about politics, social science, and mental health.