cover image Latecomers: Children of Parents Over 35

Latecomers: Children of Parents Over 35

Andrew L. Yarrow. Free Press, $22.95 (244pp) ISBN 978-0-02-935685-2

In this perceptive, broadly researched study, New York Times reporter Yarrow examines a trend which, though not previously unheard of, is now growing, fueled by feminism, contraception and economics. He evaluates the impact of delayed childbearing on the children born to not-so-youthful parents--some of whom here cite the advantages of having more mature, emotionally and financially secure progenitors, while others emphasize the drawbacks: the missed physical resiliency and easier companionship of younger parents and relatives, and the early loss or absence of grandparents. Both postponed latecomers and last-born ``babies'' or ``accidents'' of large families note a generation gap, especially pronounced during adolescence, and many profess a fear of early parental deaths. Such parent/child relationships, Yarrow stresses, are strongly influenced by changing perspectives of both parties on their respective ages--and often involve a reversal of roles. (Feb.)