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As a mom, I'm the primary breadwinner for my family. Since the birth of our son, my husband has at various time worked full-time at an office, worked part-time from home, and been a full-time stay-at home dad. I find it unfortunate that the work vs. home debate always gets framed as the "Mommy Wars" (or as a catfight), as if there is no questioning or judgment about these choices among the dads of America. When my husband was staying at home, there were far too many instances where other working dads expressly or impliedly questioned his priorities, his ability as a provider, even his manhood. In turn, many of his fellow stay-at-home dads questioned the commitment to parenting being shown by the "weekend" dads who worked full-time.
Obviously at this juncture the work/home debate among women is more prominent because women's choices are more evenly split. But, please, let's not get trapped into framing this as a gender-specific issue. What we all need are more choices and more ability to find peace with our own choices. What we don't need is more denigration of the choices made by others with respect to working or staying at home.
