grown women don't hate their mothers. weird.
Stephanie Rosenbloom of the NY Times reports that some women in their 20s and 30s are actually close with their mothers. Maybe too close. Maybe weirdly close. I guess this trend could be seen as remarkable or even shocking, but unhealthy? Only at the very end of the piece does Rosenbloom come around to the idea that these relationships might be a good thing. The bulk of the article struck me as very odd:
One would think that after giving birth to, nursing, teaching and disciplining a daughter for 18 years, a mother might want some distance.
Are mothers really just begrudgingly logging time until the gig is up and they can book a cruise? I mean we all need distance, but is it good for us or normal to cut ties at 18? Isn't that an invented idea? (That maybe came about at the same time as the concept of the "teen.")
I think we live in a culture where there is too much isolation between generations. If this is indeed a trend-- and it seems a fairly understudied area--I think it sounds like a cause for celebration.
in media momming | parenting
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That comment is odd ... and I'm a product of a mother who pretty much stopped mothering at 18 and I don't think it's a good thing. I wish this study were true for me, and many other young moms I know.
comment by s at June 30, 2007 6:37 AM
