Pablo Picasso is a notable example. He had a number of affairs and had children by several liaisons. Parenting was subordinated to the expression of his artistic genius, which gave him personal wealth and enriched civilization. The mothers of his children parented them. The model is that of wealthy parents, who can afford to delegate all parenting functions to others without becoming involved in the process of childrearing.
Parenthood describes childrearing as an interactional process.
Until it became controversial, the word family described a lifelong process of interdependent relationships with parenthood at the core. Our society reflects the fruits of individualistic life styles, such as Picasso's. When we think beyond ourselves, when we do things for the next generation out of a genuine commitment to its future well-being, we give evidence of generativity. Our failure to commit time and energy to meeting the needs of the next generation has resulted in the neglect of children on a scale unimagined in previous generations. Every impulse based on satisfying the needs of individuals now mitigates against competent parenting and societal planing for the future.