Senior Women Web
Image: Women Dancing
Image: Woman with Suitcase
Image: Women with Bicycle
Image: Women Riveters
Image: Women Archers
Image: Woman Standing

Culture & Arts button
Relationships & Going Places button
Home & Shopping button
Money & Computing button
Health, Fitness & Style button
News & Issues button

Help  |  Site Map


Culture and Arts

Culture Watch

In this issue:

And Consider This

Getting Along (almost) With Your Adult Kids
by Lois Leiderman Davitz, Ph.D. and Joel R. Davitz, Ph.D.
Sorin Books, publication Sept. 2003

This breezy little book is a handy manual for anyone with grown children. Those of us who turned to Drs. Spock and Brazelton for reassurance as we reared our young will recognize the same developmental approach that gave us guidelines and labels for chronological stages like "the terrible twos." Chapters are headed with phrases like "The Terrible Twenties" or "The Questing Forties," and each decade from the 20's to the 50's and beyond is discussed at length.

Along with insightful descriptions of the adult child's behaviors (and the reasons behind them), the authors offer up advice on how to respond. Almost all of these suggestions end up with the reminder to butt out, which may annoy some readers even though very few of us would choose to argue with it. The Davitzes enliven their writing with anecdotal coverage of such problems as in-law relationships (dicey, very dicey: handle with care) and children who return home (not always difficult).

One of this book's most heartening reminders is that our adult children remain our children no matter what the world (or for that matter the children themselves) may think. They no longer need the direct, physical care that was required when they were young, but the bonds forged between parent and child are strong enough to bend and stretch to accommodate each new stage of our lives and theirs. For those of us who have children in their 40's and 50's, the authors' discussion of the gift we can now give to them (our attitude toward life) is particularly touching.

J.S.

Return to Page One of Culturewatch<<

sightings

Culture Watch Archives

©2003 Julia Sneden for SeniorWomenWeb
Share:
  
  
  
  

Follow Us:

SeniorWomenWeb, an Uncommon site for Uncommon Women ™ (http://www.seniorwomen.com) 1999-2024