I found a great deal of interest in the "Life Course" perspective. This theory suggests how different life events such as biological, psychological, and sociocultural can have an effect on the life course. This theory discusses that there are three important dimensions,
1) The individual timing of life events in relation to historical events.
2) The synchronization of individual transitions with collective familial ones.
3) The impact of earlier life events as shaped by historical events, on subsequent ones.
So as I evaluate
this theory in my own life I can see the evidence of this theory and its accuracy. With times
changing it’s fascinating to know how people's choices are changing. I am the first
woman in my family not to have children before 25. The generation before me all
have multiple children. They were raised in a different time than me. Not only
that but they were raised by a different generation. If I had unlimited funds
to research I would ask these questions. What does this say about my generation’s
family values and how they are changing? Has my generation become selfish or
more cautious? What is the impact of being childless? By waiting, are we more
prepared to be parents? And what kind of impact will this have on our children
in the future?
I enjoyed reading your blog and liked your examples of the Life-course perspective. One that hits home with me is the second one you mentioned, the synchronaztion of individual transitions with collective familial ones. I have many examples throughout my life but one example was in my early twenties. I was single and independent and looking into starting college and had no children. I then met my now Ex who had 3
ReplyDeleteyoung children he was raising alone ages 2, 4 and 5. Their mom had walked out of the kids lives.
A short time after meeting him we moved in together and I put school on hold to be a mom to these children and to give them the love and support they needed. It wasn't until years later and thatthey all got into school fulltime that I went back to school.
You ask some really good questions at the end of your blog. I waited until I was 32 to have a baby, and I often wonder how having my son at a later age will be different from if I had him in my mid twenties, like my mother did. I didn't change much from my mid-twenties to my early thirties. I had no career goals, and I was still partying like I was a young college student. I was definitely not better prepared in the responsibility department because I was older. I did all my changing after my son was born, and the changes were drastic. I suspect that I would have gone through the same changes even if I was younger, because motherhood is a stronger force than age. But I could be wrong. I also think about how I will have less time with my son, and how he will lose his mother at a younger age. It will be interesting to see the impact on this generation's children.
ReplyDeleteRenatta, your writing is excellent! You have such a perspective into what many of us probably overlook or forget is a reality for many of our military overseas and here. Also how the generations are so completely different, is so true. The younger generations, seem to lean further onto the grandparents, which seems like it throws off the balance, where the grands are in their years of after children, to be thrust back into it seems like the parents responsibility not the parents, parents. And to be clear I realize that you were raised by your grandmother and that certain situations don't apply to what I'm saying here. As a whole though I see the generational changes. We as women are waiting longer to get married if we do and longer to start a family, if we do. I think this is a great thing in many ways, life is expected to be lived longer now, college can be attended at any age with financial aid and possible grants to help put you through school. It works both ways I suppose, as most things do. The responsibility maybe overwhelms many people I think as Sarah mentioned. I too am getting ready to get married, in my mid 30's and will try for my first and ONLY child probably night of the marriage! I think back even 20 years ago, and we didn't view the later pregnancy's and marriage as openly as we do now. So we still have movement in the progress department but lacking in the balance of responsibility department. Or seems to be with the different changes in the generations outlooks on responsibility. I hope this made sense......
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