All Joy and No Fun: The Paradox of Modern Parenthood

by Jennifer Senior

Children are pashas of excess.

If you’ve spent most of your adult life in the company of other adults—especially in the workplace, where social niceties are observed and rational discourse is generally the coin of the realm—it requires some adjusting to spend so much time in the company of people who feel more than think.

“I change all of her tires, polish up the car, and get out of the way,” she told me. “Then she peels out. I’m the pit crew.”