We're in a culture where everything is either consumption or production, so child care is either a very, very bad-paying form of work or a very expensive luxury that you purchase. There isn't a good place in our picture of the world for what caregiving is about. Even teenage babysitters have sort of disappeared from the scene.
Alison GopnikAdults tend to think they have much free will. Kids younger than six are less sure. They may be more realistic!
Alison GopnikTexts and e-mails travel no faster than phone calls and telegrams, and their content isn't necessarily richer or poorer.
Alison GopnikBeing a grandmother is a wonderful thing, so my advice is skip the children. Go straight to the grandchildren.
Alison GopnikChildhood is a fundamental part of all human lives, parents or not, since that's how we all start out. And yet babies and young children are so mysterious and puzzling and even paradoxical.
Alison Gopnik