Monday, June 11, 2007

BabyQuest on MSNBC

There's a decent discussion about when is the best time to have a baby on msnbc.com as part of a special online series they're calling BabyQuest: The modern pursuit of parenthood. (A new story every week until July 5, on subjects such as "Will science render men unnecessary?" )

Here's a few excerpts from the exchange:

My wife and I met later in life and by the time we were ready to have children we ran into difficulties. After three failed IUIs and two failed IVFs we decided to adopt. We adopted our son from Russia two years ago and couldn't be happier.
— Jeff, Frisco, Texas

I had my first child three weeks shy of my 22nd birthday, and my son 16 1/2 months later. Sure, I was young, but it was the best decision I have ever made. I am thankful that by the time my kids graduate from high school, I will still be young (early 40s) and be able to travel and have fun. I would much rather have all the hard work behind me and be able to look forward to the days ahead with my husband.
— Catherine, South Lake Tahoe, Calif.

Also of note to dads, the site has a story today on the concept of women being "Momblocked." The idea is that confident stay-at-home dads are somewhat marginalizing their working-mother partners. I don't buy it, and even the story hedges a bit, noting that"it's still the norm for moms to act as the gatekeepers to fathers' involvement with their kids." But I could see where it could happen.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

That "Momblocked" thing is interesting. My husband is a SAHD and I work full time. Our son is about 6 months old so it's all new, but I don't think he ever undermines me. He has figured out what our son wants a few times when I couldn't but since our goal is his happiness and health, I just want him to stop crying! I think that no matter how much more experiance my husband has with our son day-to-day, I'm always going to be the one who felt him kick in my tummy and who breast fed him, etc. We each have our own special bonds with the boy that can't be replaced or minimalized.

Daddy G. said...

I hear ya. I think most parents have a division of labor, but there are some things you'll never be able to take away from Mom. In our family, I'm usually the go-to guy for games and outside play, and I don't think my wife sees that as threatening at all. On the other hand, when one of the kids gets a boo-boo, they go straight to mommy. I might as well be invisible! That doesn't make me feel threatened. Useless, maybe, but not threatened :)

Anonymous said...

you guys are all just poop!

Daddy G. said...

actually, pooped would be a better description - we got kids who won't sleep through the night!