Actor Daniel Radcliffe, most known for his eight-film run in the lead role in the Harry Potter franchise, recently spoke about the joy he has found in fatherhood — and his statement also shines a light on the negative feelings that have come to be associated with children and parenting.
Radcliffe, 34, appeared on “Today with Hoda and Jenna,” where he shared what life has been like since welcoming a son with girlfriend Erin Darke in April 2023.
“It’s awesome. I think a lot of people said, like, ‘Just get through the first six months, then after that it gets better,’ but I’ve kind of really enjoyed the first six months,” Radcliffe said, before saying of fatherhood, “I don’t know what I imagined, honestly, but it’s great. He’s incredible and I’m just, like, in awe.”
American culture and media project a negative view of parenting and children — so much so that in May 2021, The New York Times used Mother’s Day weekend to highlight women who had decided not to have children. The piece, “Women Who Said No to Motherhood,” celebrated “the consciously child-free.”
Children are often depicted as difficult and bratty on television shows and movies. Some restaurants have even banned children, and airline passengers have expressed dread at having a child in any of the seats near them. Mothers are depicted as disheveled and exhausted, and fathers are often shown to be indifferent, stressed out, and incompetent.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JULY 21: Daniel Radcliffe and Erin Darke join the picket line In New York City on July 21, 2023 in New York City. Members of SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood’s largest union which represents actors and other media professionals, have joined striking WGA (Writers Guild of America) workers… (Photo by John Nacion/Getty Images)
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Young adults are commonly delaying marriage and children (if they even ever get married or have any children at all). Some of this may be because they want to focus on their careers or have ‘me’ time. Some of may be out of concern for the environment. It’s no wonder a Pew Research Center survey found that a rising share of U.S. adults who are not already parents say they are not likely to ever have children. People don’t want to be bothered.
The childless Stefan Beck wrote for The Daily Beast, “I remember a day at the beach, watching my ex-girlfriend’s niece and nephew splash around in the surf, during which I felt like a border collie on amphetamines. The prospect of feeling like that for eighteen years convinced me that there were probably others better suited to child care than I was or ever could be.”
For Radcliffe, these negative opinions filtered to him as well — likely through well-intentioned friends who attempted to encourage him to look forward to the time when his son would be six months old. But their words essentially implied that the first six months after birth, which is critical bonding time between parents and children, either don’t matter or are complete torture for parents.
Radcliffe himself even explains, “I don’t know what I imagined, honestly, but it’s great.” He seems genuinely surprised by the fact that he is enjoying fatherhood. After all, most of his expectations came from a world in which children are no longer welcome. Since 1970, the percentage of homes with children dropped from 56% to 40% as fewer and fewer young adults get married and have children.
Thankfully, Radcliffe didn’t just brush off the first six months of his son’s life since birth. He even said he is balancing work life and home life by being more selective about what jobs he takes and when he takes them. It seems he doesn’t want to miss out on his child’s life.
As Pope Francis said, “A society with a greedy generation, that doesn’t want to surround itself with children, that considers them above all worrisome, a weight, a risk, is a depressed society.”
