CDFS 408 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Egalitarianism, Coparenting, Money Management
3 Jun 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Expectations
The Unexpected
Even couples who are well prepared for a child fail to anticipate how it will change their
relationship
Children increase the surface area for conflict
Parents have an idealistic view
Across the transition partners develop expectations
Expectations are a representation of an imagined future
They shouldn’t be too high or too low
Where should or expectations be?
Prenatal Expectations
Expectations develop from experiences with
Family of origin
Social circles
Relationship
High expectations that are overly idealistic
Higher expectations leave more room for violation
Planned vs. Unplanned Pregnancies
Planners
2nd honeymoon
Unplanned
couples who are less blissful about their future
Document Summary
Even couples who are well prepared for a child fail to anticipate how it will change their relationship. Expectations are a representation of an imagined future. They shouldn"t be too high or too low. Unplanned couples who are less blissful about their future less likely to develop a supportive co-parenting relationship that involves planning, discussing and negotiating expectations and roles. Resulting in lower mother-father relationship happiness and higher co-parenting conflict. Positive: have better adjustment to their new roles. Negative: have poorer adjustment to their new roles. Unmet expectations leads to being less supportive of spouse"s parental role. Baby causes an increase in household labor and creation of new roles. Think back to the story at the beginning of chapter 6. A baby impacts the life of a woman more than a man. Women report less positive feelings towards their partner. Not all mothers distressed by their increase in responsibilities. Women with the same amount of work evaluate their situation differently.
