WIP started, just a few months ago, when it was warm outside and I didn't have to struggle with my kids for half an hour to put on their jackets and mittens.  I did some research to find out what other universities were doing to support student parents. I came across a journal article* reviewing campus resources across North America, that was quite surprising to me. There is simply not a whole lot that universities in this continent seem to offer for student parents. It actually made me feel quite lucky: U of T has a whole office with a reasonable budget devoted to family issues for students, staff and faculty. The Family Care Office  not only offers tons of groups and workshops to support parenting, they also help with practical things such as childcare, parental leave and so much more. It’s actually a great place to get some help adjusting to the dual demands of academia and parenting. And there sure is some getting adjusted needed. As the authors of the study quite nicely put it, there are many similarities between the demands of raising a child and being an university student: “If one were offered a purview into homes across the country in the wee hours of the night, one might find both academics and parents pacing the floors, searching and pleading for that elusive cocktail of soothing strategies to lull a crying baby to sleep or the rhetorical flourishes needed to complete that vexing chapter.” But when it’s both of those things at once, it takes some juggling and a whole lot of support to work it through. * "Making Space for Graduate Student Parents” by Kristen W. Springer, Brenda K. Parker and Catherine Leviten-Reid, published in the Journal of Family Issues on April 2009.