Parents are told to treasure every moment: “It goes by in the blink of an eye!” Yet for many, the early months of parenthood do not feel fast so much as relentless: a blur of feedings, worries and appointments in which time seems to belong to everyone but the parents themselves.
How do we find balance when every minute is already spoken for? This is the question at the heart of my research. Over years of fieldwork in Toronto’s wealthiest and most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, I interviewed more than 200 people and surveyed over 1,000, among them first-time parents. I develop these findings in Timeless, my forthcoming book.
