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It's amazing to me that an intelligent person like Joan Walsh could take offense at the self-evident statement that "something is lost" when a woman works. Did Caitlin Flanagan say that nothing is gained? I don't think so. She said that something is lost, and certainly from the perspective of one's children, that is the case: time with their mother. (Assuming we're talking about preschool-aged children, which apparently we are.) Does time with one's mother matter to a young child? Well, yes, can't we agree on that? Is an hour or two in the evening equivalent to a day of companionship? No, I don't think so. So what's your problem, Joan?
Unless you want to seriously argue the ridiculous idea that a nanny or day care center is "just as good" as a loving parent at raising a child, your refusal to concede Flanagan's point betrays a degree of defensiveness or dogmatism that is quite unbecoming. (And if a nanny is just as good as a parent, why stop at 10 hours a day?)
