Enter
you position something as your job,
well, that’s supposed to be compensated. I don’t want my kid to be
my job. I want my kid to be my kid!
We’ve been suckered into believing
that motherhood is a career choice.
You say that community is an antidote to
parental dissatisfaction. But many of us
work long hours, don’t live near our extended family and don’t know our neighbors. How can we get the “village”? A
big piece of it is our expectation
that the best thing for kids is to
be with one or both parents. I
don’t agree. I think it’s great for
kids to be around other kids and
Q&A
have multiple caregivers. I think it
makes parents happier when it’s a
little bit spread out. But it’s going
to take a lot for it to change.
Like what? I wish I had the answer!
The most frustrating thing about
writing this book was not having the answers. But I don’t think
we need to have all the answers
as long as we’re having the conversation. It says a lot about our
priorities when people find Time
magazine’s breastfeeding cover
story more outrageous than the
fact that we don’t have paid maternity leave. Who gives a shit if this
woman wants to breastfeed her
four-year-old? It’s really
just a great distraction.
HUFFINGTON
08.26.12
Valenti at
her home in
Boston.