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Illustration by The Atlantic The Catch-22 for Working Parents
The U.S. requires parents to work in order to receive aid but does very little to enable parents to work—or workers to parent.
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Tyler Comrie / The Atlantic; Getty Judging Parents Online Is a National Sport
Whether they share their joys or their struggles, parents just can’t win on social media.
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GraphicaArtis / Getty The Bizarre Relationship of a ‘Work Wife’ and a ‘Work Husband’
The work marriage is a strange response to our anxieties about mixed-gender friendships, heightened by the norms of a professional environment.
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The Atlantic The Dilemma of Babies on Airplanes
Hamstrung by the need to ensure that their kids don’t inconvenience anyone else, parents can’t do much parenting at all.
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Alessandra Sanguinetti / Magnum Should Friends Offer Honesty or Unconditional Support?
A “culture of passivity” makes many people reluctant to question their friends’ decisions.
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Illustration by Alex Cochran The Pandemic Exposed the Inequality of American Motherhood
Rich and poor women had completely different experiences.
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Christopher Anderson / Magnum Why We Long for the Most Difficult Days of Parenthood
Older parents are always telling parents of young children to cherish every second; it will be gone in a flash. But it’s very difficult advice to follow in the thick of it.
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Getty; Joanne Imperio / The Atlantic American Family Policy Is Holding Schools Back
A child’s ability to succeed in the classroom is powerfully influenced by their home environment. Giving parents the support they need could be key to fixing American education.
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Peter Jaunig / Connected Archives Is the Internet Killing the Nude Beach?
Clothing-optional public spaces seem to be declining in popularity, especially among young people, whose relationship with nudity has been shaped by a lifetime online.
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Katie Martin / The Atlantic; Grace Robertson / … The Pain That Is Unlike All Other Pain
Why does society treat labor pain with such reverence—and its relief with such scrutiny?
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Celia Jacobs The Myth of Independent American Families
In Nordic countries, people rely on the state. In the U.S., they rely on their communities.
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Getty; The Atlantic Cities Aren’t Built for Kids
But they could be.
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Illustration by Alex Cochran How Affluence Pulls People Away From Their Families
Money and education allow many people to venture farther, without needing to rely on relatives for child care or a place to sleep. But that freedom sometimes goes hand in hand with isolation.
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Bettmann / Getty; The Atlantic The Stepparent’s Dilemma
Who parents whom in a blended family? A popular, controversial approach to stepparenting teaches that if they’re not your kids, they’re not your responsibility.
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Igor Alecsander / Getty Speech Therapy Shows the Difficult Trade-Offs of Wearing Masks
All parents of young children have been forced to gamble during the pandemic. Many parents of kids with speech disorders don’t like their odds.
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The Atlantic The Next Century’s Big Demographic Mystery
Experts can’t agree on how many humans will be on Earth by 2100. The implications could be profound.
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David L. Ryan / The Boston Globe / … The Alternative to Closing Schools
As stifling as Britain’s pandemic rules for adults were, the country seemed determined, in stark contrast to America, to ask as little as possible of children.
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Klaus Vedfelt / Getty; The Atlantic The Social Security Trap
Social Security rewards long careers and high pay, all but guaranteeing that parents who focus on child-rearing receive the smallest payouts. My mom is one such parent.
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Trent Parke / Magnum My Dad Is Dead. His Landlord Just Evicted Him.
A jumble of complicated and unexpected logistical tasks can fall into your lap after a loved one dies.
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Adam Maida / The Atlantic The Remote Work–Fertility Connection
It’s easier for parents whose jobs can be done remotely to juggle work and child care. This digital divide is starting to shape who chooses to have kids.
