Is our love for our children innate?
book club thoughts on bell hooks and All About Love.
When I was pregnant with my first child, I never doubted that I would immediately love them once they arrived. And in fact, I did. P was born with a full head of jet black hair, and I loved her immediately. I knew, the moment she was handed to me after a difficult birth, that I would put my life on the line for this human.
I assumed this was innate, right? Mothers and parents are supposed to love their children and not only that, they are supposed to know HOW to love. We never talk much about love as parents because we assume all parents love their children and there isn’t much to discuss.
No matter what a parent does, what mistakes they make, what harm they cause, we always assume that fundamentally, in spite of it all, they loved their child. They loved them, and they also messed up.