Taking Parenting Public

Taking Parenting Public makes a compelling case that parenting has become dangerously undervalued in America today. It calls for a new investment—both personal and public—into the work of raising children and argues that we are all 'stockholders' in the next generation. With a foreword by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Cornel West, Taking Parenting Public crosses boundaries to bring together thinkers from diverse fields spanning the political spectrum. It features contributions from distinguished experts in economics, political science, public policy, child development, public health, history, and the media. While recent books have focused on working mothers or absent fathers, Taking Parenting Public is the first volume to take a comprehensive look at the common struggles of parents. These essays go beyond the usual chest-beating about busy parents torn between work and family demands to suggest bold solutions. Instead of the typical call for 'parent replacement'—more child care, more after school programs and more mentors—the contributors offer fresh strategies for 'parent replenishment,' ways to put mothers and fathers back into the lives of their children not only as economic providers, but also as emotional and moral providers.

Taking Parenting Public makes a compelling case that parenting has become dangerously undervalued in America today. It calls for a new investment—both personal and public—into the work of raising children and argues that we are all 'stockholders' in the next generation. With a foreword by Sylvia Ann Hewlett and Cornel West, Taking Parenting Public crosses boundaries to bring together thinkers from diverse fields spanning the political spectrum. It features contributions from distinguished experts in economics, political science, public policy, child development, public health, history, and the media. While recent books have focused on working mothers or absent fathers, Taking Parenting Public is the first volume to take a comprehensive look at the common struggles of parents. These essays go beyond the usual calls for more and better child care and other strategies of 'parent replacement' to offer fresh ideas for 'parent replenishment,' ways of putting mothers and fathers back into the lives of their children not only as economic providers, but also as emotional and moral providers. For more information visit theNational Parenting Association Web site.

Chapter 1 Foreword: The Challenge
Chapter 2 Introduction
Part 3 The Cultural Marketplace
Chapter 4 On Rekindling a Spirit of "Home Training": A Mother's Notes from the Front
Chapter 5 Empty Parenthood: The Loss of Parental Authority in the Postmodern Family
Chapter 6 FromFather Knows Best toThe Simpsons—On TV, Parenting Has Lost Its Halo
Part 7 The Economic Marketplace
Chapter 8 The Economic Status of Parents in Postwar America
Chapter 9 Time Crunch Among American Parents
Chapter 10 Low-Income Parents and the Time Famine
Part 11 The Political Marketplace
Chapter 12 Political Trends Among American Parents: The 1950s to 1996
Chapter 13 Taxes and the Family: A Conservative Perspective
Chapter 14 Observations on Some Proposals to Help Parents: A Progressive Perspective
Chapter 15 Back to the Future: A GI Bill for the 21st Century
Part 16 Building Public Will and Political Power to Help Parents
Chapter 17 The Paths from Here
Chapter 18 What It Will Take to Build a Family-Friendly America
Chapter 19 The Emerging Fatherhood Movement: Making Room for Daddy
Chapter 20 The Parent Vote
Chapter 21 Fixing Social Insecurity: A Proposal to Finance Parenthood
Part 22 Conclusion: Taking Parenting Public