Older Parents and Younger Parents - Essay Example

of Younger Parents and Older Parents Whether to have children early or late is a problem that haunts couples these days. This is a relatively new question as far as a majority of the people is concerned as it owes a lot to modern methods of contraception. This introduced the option of family planning for people who were earlier constrained by the absence of suitable technology for this purpose. Arguments have been made against having a child while one is younger, mostly geared towards a feminist perspective. These focus on the problems that motherhood poses for the professional lives of the mother who is then consigned to the role of the mother and wife. Arguments for younger parents focus mostly on the biological aspect of motherhood and the aspect of the biological clock is often invoked. A middle path is often more suitable with no norm being set that would miss the whole point of individual freedom. One of the main points that are used against older parents is their inability to handle the cognitive aspects of mental illness when it happens in children. This severely limits their ability to handle instances where their children are affected by mental ailments (Cook, et al.). There are however, advantages of being an older parent. In many cases, older parents have resources of financial and mental kinds that are useful and sometimes even essential for the purpose of parenthood. The stress that one goes through during parenthood can thus be eased to a great extent if one is independent and able to manage one’s finances on one’s own. Older parents are also considered to be more comfortable with each other and hence able to offer a better environment for the child. Older parents would thus not need to compromise on their marital quality so as to have a child (Needham and Umberson 439). This argument is similar to the feminist argument that an older woman would be emotionally and financially readier for a child. This would also reduce the chances that a parent would suffer of regret that a parent may suffer in relation to his or her career. The feminist argument in this case is stretched to include fathers who are then seen to play an equal part in parenthood and in the development of the child. Older fathers and mothers are then seen to be more mature and hence better for the future of the child. The child is then seen as not a product of merely those factors that are hereditary but also those of nurture. In such a framework, nurture is what is considered, according to this view, more important. Younger parents are sometimes not considered to be intelligent to manage their children. Some commentators however, find this view disturbing as it seems to be created through an orthodoxy of feminism which fails to take in stances that are fluid and ever-changing according to the needs of culture (Steiner). The arguments against older parents and for younger parents sometimes focus on parenthood as a choice irrespective of the age at which people become parents. One of the major arguments that are advanced in favor of younger parents is the fitness that they would possess in terms of their physique that would enable the birth of a healthy child. These are obviously not geared towards a promotion of pregnancies that happen too early. These views contend that new models of families would be able to allow the woman to sustain her professional life even when she has a child. They place the onus of supporting the mother on the husband and on the government in the cases of single mothers. Such views are able to propose a radical view of the family which is an institution that has been appropriated by patriarchy for perpetuating itself in insidious ways. They oppose traditional roles that have been played by mothers and call for a change in the familial structure rather than a change in the age for childbirth. Having children early is also seen by some to promote understanding between the parents and the children as the generational gap between the two parties would then be lesser. Watching the parent achieve successes in a journey that is successful would enable the child to understand the benefits of being a hardworking person. This would be a positive influence on the child as he or she would be able to look at life as a slow process fuelled by work and rigor. There are additional benefits of the parents being able to be a part of many of the activities that the children may want to do. The parents can then manage outdoor activities better. This is important as it would enable the child to develop a fondness for physical activities that would ensure a healthy life in the future. To take an extreme position on this debate would be a foolhardy enterprise. This is so as a result of the extremely diverse situations that women come from in terms of their ethnicity and class and other factors (such as caste in parts of South Asia). Many parents when they have spoken on the issue have talked about how age was not as big a factor as some others when it came to parenting (Irons). It has prevented many from leading a successful professional life but many have demonstrated how it is possible to do so without affecting the nurture and future of their child. These have led from a feminist focus on changing foundational categories of life such as the institution of the family. It has also led from a feminist understanding of the diversity within women, engendered through other forms of social groupings and oppressions. To not fall prey to such viewpoints while creating norms is important as it affects profoundly the future of the child. More importantly, it depends on the monetary and physical aspects of the parents’ lives which need to decide at what age a child is to be conceived and had. Works Cited Needham, Belinda L., Umberson, Debra. “Parenting, Parenthood and Marital Interactions”. Sourcebook of Family Theory and Research. Eds. Alan C. Acock, David M. Klein, Vern L. Bengtson, Katherine R. Allen, Peggye Dilworth-Anderson. California: Sage, 2005. Print. Cook, Judith A., Lefley, Harriet P., Pickett, Susan A., Cohler, Bertram J.“Age and Family Burden among Parents of Offspring with Severe Mental Illness”. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 64: (1994), 3. 435-447. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Irons, Korey Rodley. “Is Parenting Experience Different for Older or Younger Parents?” From families.com. Web. 30 Oct. 2012. Steiner, Leslie Morgan. “On Balance”. The Washington Post. 16 Jan. 2008. Web. 31 Oct. 2012. 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