Darby Saxbe

When I became an academic, it was partially because I had seen David.

I mean, basically his job just seemed fun.

He could come home early after teaching a class and play Nintendo baseball.

And he just seemed like he had a really chill job.

And my parents were always working.

So I was like, well, obviously being a professor is great.

I think I was.

A little did I know how hard it would actually be to get there.

But now it's great.

But he really inspired me.

I think I learned a lot from him.

It's totally hard.

You both don't want to supplant the parent, but then also you are acting as a parent.

So it's just a breeding ground.

Yeah.

Yeah.

I think our framing around stepparenthood has been so negative that people see the bad stepfather, the bad stepmother, and even in fairy tales, like the evil stepmother.

And if you look at the research, a lot of kids who grow up with step-parents say this relationship is really valuable.

And so to whatever extent a real bond can form, it can serve a lot of the same positive functions that a biological parent bond can form, right?

Like we don't need to be biologically related to a kid in order to take care of a kid.