Fast-Forward Family: Home, Work, and Relationships in Middle-Class America

by Elinor Ochs (Editor), Tamar Kremer-Sadlik (Editor)

Called "the most unusually voyeuristic anthropology study ever conducted" by the "New York Times, " this groundbreaking book provides an unprecedented glimpse into modern-day American families. In a study by the UCLA Sloan Center on Everyday Lives and Families, researchers tracked the daily lives of 32 dualworker middle class Los Angeles families between 2001 and 2004. The results are startling, and enlightening. "Fast-Forward Family" shines light on a variety of issues that face American families: the differing stress levels among parents; the problem of excessive clutter in the American home; the importance (and decline) of the family meal; the vanishing boundaries that once separated work and home life; and the challenges for parents as they try to reconcile ideals regarding what it means to be a good parent, a good worker, and a good spouse. Though there are also moments of connection, affection, and care, it's evident that life for 21st century working parents is frenetic, with extended work hours, children's activities, chores, meals to prepare, errands to run, and bills to pay.

Genres: Nonfiction, Sociology, Family, Parenting

320 pages, Paperback

First published December 14, 2012

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book reads more like a textbook than a general nonfiction book published for the casual reader. That's fine by me. I just skimmed the technical paragraphs that explained in detail the research methodology of the study and focused more on reading about the results. The glimpses into other families lives was fascinating. I enjoyed the bit about how decorations on a family fridge turn out to correlate to how tidy a house is. If your fridge is covered with stuff then usually your house is cluttered. It's true! I was also fascinated over how some of the families were so insanely over-scheduled. Kids signed up for 10 different activities? Whew! How much does that cost?! I was exhausted just reading about them.

My family isn't quite the same as the 32 chosen for the study. Our kids are teenagers, not small children. I work from home so there is no commute to deal with and I can get housework done during my work hours. We don't live in LA where apparently the commutes are hellish. My husband doesn't have to spend 60-90 minutes driving home. Our house is an open floor plan and not very big so the family can't isolate as easily as the ones in the book. OK, now that I am thinking about it, we don't have a lot of the stresses mentioned in the book. Yay. **pats self on the back**

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fascinating because it gives insight into what middle class families really do at home.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book served as a companion to "Life at Home in the Twenty-First Century", which is a social/science photo book about the materialism and stresses of American family life, and included the data that went into the aforementioned book. The statistics provided was a mix of text book data, and yet didn't go into as much detail as it should have. I believe brief family histories would have been appropriate to better understand the information shared for if I had not read the first book, I would not have understood this book at all. I did come away feeling good about my family regularly sitting down for dinner together (unlike so many families in this book) and I will never look at family refrigerators in the same way. Be warned friends- I will look at the clutter on your fridge and compare it to the ratio of clutter in your home, as the authors of this book made a strong connection between the two in the homes they studied.

[Kristen Northrup]

My digital advance copy expired before I could finish it. (Which I guess says something right there about the density of the text. But mostly something about how they need to give more time on these things.)

The main impression I'd already received was not to purchase, however. This is not a description of current research written for the general public, like NutureShock or Brain Rules for Baby. It's the data. I swiftly bogged down in scan sampling percentages and n=15. Very useful for other researchers and professionals, but I'll wait for the repackage.

[ece · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would recommend this book anyone who has or is considering starting a family, might be better than marriage therapy :) The book paints a comprehensive and detailed picture of middle-class, American family as it deals with the challenge of providing children a strong and stable foundation in a constantly changing, fast-paced world.