Summary of Alison Gopnik's The Gardener And The Carpenter

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1The word parenting first appeared in America in 1958. It is a poor fit to the scientific reality, as parents are not designed to shape their children’s lives. They are designed to provide the next generation with a protected space in which they can produce new ways of thinking and acting that are unlike any that we would have anticipated beforehand. #2 There is little evidence that parents’ decisions about co-sleeping or letting their children cry it out has any long-term effects on their children’s adult traits. The American society, which is centered around parenting, provides less support for children than any other developed country. #3 The rise of parenting is similar to what happened to food in America around the same time period. We have replaced traditional eating habits with prescriptions. What was once a matter of experience has become a matter of expertise. #4 Children are undeniably messy. They are incontrovertibly and undeniably messy. Whatever the rewards of being a parent may be, tidiness is not one of them. In fact, in the perpetual academic search for funding, I’ve wondered whether I could get the military to consider weaponizing toddler chaos.