Customer Reviews

The Baby Boon: How Family-Friendly America Cheats the Childless

5 star:		(59)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Someone left this book on the break table at work, and I started reading out of curiosity. At the end of my shift, I headed to a bookstore to buy it. I have 3 kids and I have never stopped before to think about who picks up shifts when I or the other parents in my office leave early or can't come in. I never stopped to think that the policies and tax laws that are being written are unfair to people who don't have kids. Like most people, I like to think that everyone who works with me doesn't mind when I have to leave early to pick up my kids or attend a school function. It is very eye opening for me to see that the people I have been passing work to when I was wearing my Mom hat have lives too. It is really easy to get wrapped up in My Kids and My Life, and not think about anyone else's lives. I highly recommend this book to every person, parent or childless, who thinks that the system in place is fair to all employees. It obviously is not and I am glad Burkett had the balls to write an honest, eye opening book. This is one person who will be making sure she appreciates the people who pick up the extra work so she can be home with her kids when she needs to care for them.

Preaching to the choir of the childfree, this book should be required reading for every CEO and politician touting "family-friendly" policies within a very narrow definition of what constitutes a "family," and for every parent who thinks that their rights include stepping on everyone else "for the good of the (my) children."

There's a revolution brewing, and Burkett is the leading the charge. No longer will the childfree sit back and take it while parents run roughshod over them.

Elinor's book is a real eye-opener, pointing out the inequalities which exist in our child worshipping society today that affect not only the childfree, but the lower income families as well. Her facts and figures point to a trend in America which has been in the making for nearly 30 years. A trend which shows the changes in parental values from children once being considered a privilege and a responsibility to being viewed by wealthy "gotta have it all" parents as a loss in careers, time and money. Losses which the middle and upper income parents expect to be compensated for at the expense of the lower-income families and the childfree. The Baby Boon explains how the poor families and their children gain nothing from all the sugar-coated "family-friendly" policies being offered by the politicians and how the childfree have been reduced to second-class citizens.

This book was highly recommended by the posters on the many Childfree bulletin boards available online. The author addresses many issues the childfree have noticed for years, and also uncovers other shocking inequities most of us never considered. For example, she reports that in the state of Oregon, there are higher penalties for domestic violence against a mother than against a childfree woman! She also explores the origins of the entitlement mentality that middle and upper class parents have assumed in the last 30 years. I bought not one, but TWO copies. One copy was placed in the reading rack in the breakroom at my work. After my husband finishes reading the second copy, he's going to put it in the lending library in the lounge at his Union Hall. If you feel you encounter discrimination at work, and your workplace has a lounge or break area, make sure to leave the book there after you read it. Libraries could use copies too! It's a progressive, highly researched piece. BUY EXTRA COPIES, FRIENDS! This is our chance to do something!

Every politician and CEO in the country should read this book. Elinor Burkett does an excellent analysis of allegedly "family-friendly" and "for the children" policies, exposing the underlying hypocrisy of the people espousing these policies. Burkett sounds the wake-up call for this country to realize that "family friendly" means middle and upper-middle class parent friendly and "for the children" means middle and upper-middle class children. The truly needy continue to go hungry and uneducated while politicians fall over themselves to offer "breaks" to those who can well afford to raise their own children. And of course, all these "breaks" are paid for by those without children.

Burkett does a wonderful job in detailing how affirmative action for parents results in discrimination against those without children and the demise of the concept of equal pay for equal work. Everyone, those without children and those with children, should read this book and decide whether this country can continue to support such rampant discrimination against those without children.

I just received my copy of this book tonight and I'm already half-way through it. Hats off to Elinor Burkett for researching so thoroughly and writing so compellingly about the coming social battle growing in the United States and elsewhere around the world. In an era of rampant pro-natalism and selfish 'gotta-have-it-alls', Burkett examines the moralistic rhetoric used by parents to obfuscate the truth and by politicians to justify blatant discrimination against the childless. For any of you tired of being shortchanged - financially, emotionally, politically, etc. - just because you don't have children, this book will be 'preaching to the choir', but very informative and enjoyable, nonetheless. Send a copy to your congressional representatives and remind them that childless people are the fastest-growing demographic in this country!

Having just finished this book, I would HIGHLY recommend it to every childfree person in America and to parents; despite the fact that I believe that only the CF people will understand, relate and appreciate this book. IMO, this is one of the most significant books ever written on the Childfree people in our society. The facts and figures alone will astound most people and will awaken many to the various ways the CF are discriminated against in family-friendly America. If parents read this book they will most definately get an eye-opening account of their own selfishness and a wonderful insight into how CF people feel. I particularly hope that they take heed of the third section of this book....parents, "you have been forewarned"...don't be surprized when we, the childfree, take to the streets of Washington DC soon demanding respect and our equality ! In conclusion, the one and only negative critique I have is that I cringed everytime I had to read the term "childLESS", this word made me extremely angry and uncomfortable since I consider myself "FREE", not "LESS". I think many others will feel this way as well.

Wonderful! In "The Baby Boon", Elinor Burkett draws back the curtains to shed light on an issue that has been quietly simmering for a long time. That is: how the ever-increasing child/parent-centeredness of U.S. society marginalizes and, in some cases, openly discriminates against people without children. Burkett gives a voice to those who have kept silent, fearing to complain lest they be branded child-haters or worse. And what an eloquent voice it is! Burkett's writing is smooth, effective, and most importantly: convincing. Her arguments are backed up not just by a sense of justice, but also by very well-researched fact. "The Baby Boon" challenges one of the most sacred of sacred cows; naturally it will prove to be a controversial book. In this Presidential election year, I truly hope that some of the public debate that this book will undoubtedly inspire will make it to the ears of our elected officials. It is high time that the host of problems associated with excessive parental priviledges be acknowled and addressed. Kudos to Burkett for her bravery in starting the ball rolling. "Baby Boon" is a must read for anyone in the U.S. who votes, pays taxes, or has a job, non-parents and parents alike.

Finally, a book that throws mud in the face of America's obsession with pronatalism. Using clear facts and solid research, Burkett deflates many of the myths surrounding the childfree-as-selfish, parents-as-selfless hysterity that has taken over much of American society, marginalizing those who are unable or unwilling to bear children.

It is a *choice* to have children, not a right and not a duty. My husband and I have chosen not to - we can't afford the time or the money and (here's my big, dirty secret) I don't want to! I would never suggest to someone else that she should *not* have children - it's a choice. Too bad I'm not granted the same respect. I resent "women's issues" meaning "mothers' issues." Am I now some sort of third gender? I am so glad this book was written to give voice to what we all know happens every day. The Baby Boon raises issues that many people would just as soon keep quiet - and it's about time somebody wrote about them. I especially appreciated the story about the New York Times columnist who had the temerity to suggest that maybe life was about making choices and was promptly ripped to pieces in the press. How dare anyone suggest that motherhood comes with any adverse consequences?