I was under the impression that raising children is pretty much foolproof.

But if you just give them some food and they don't freeze to death or fall off a mountain or whatever,

they'll inevitably turn out perfectly fine.

Would you say that's an accurate assessment?

Yes, first and most important is keeping them alive and getting them to adulthood.

And that's what most of the time of mankind has been focused on.

But in the last 50, 100 years, we've expanded what it is to raise a child.

And we've become much more focused on child development, cognitive development.

So you're saying I have to talk to my children among all the other things I have to do.

You need to talk and interact with them.

Yeah, all of those things are really important.

Sounds exhausting. Why would anyone want to be a parent?

Well, it can be very exhausting.

And for the longest time in this country, we've said to parents, you know what?

It's all on you.

So yes, this intensive parenting has become the norm.

But our structures just aren't set up to support parents in that.

The very patient person I've been speaking with here is named Dana Suskind.

I am professor of Pediatrics and Surgery and co-director of the TMW Center for Early Learning in Public Health at the University of Chicago.

And I hope you can tell I wasn't being entirely serious about the burden of child rearing.

But let's be honest, parenting is a hard thing.

And I say that as someone who has not only enjoyed parenting, but this is a big but.

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