In “Goodnight Moon. Goodnight Daycare Room,” Alissa Quart visits a 24-hour daycare to witness the lives of families on what she calls the “forever clock”—an endless workday perpetuated by night shifts and double jobs. Quart is the author of three books, most recently Republic of Outsiders, just out in paperback. She has written for the New York Times Magazine; the Atlantic; O, The Oprah Magazine; and other publications. For this story, she says, “I was interested in writing about around-the-clock daycares that are well run but nevertheless the result of a labor force—parents—pressed to the brink. These extreme daycares exist in part because corporations think consumers need to shop at two in the morning: Parents are now working at Costco, and the like, at night so they can’t be with their kids.”
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