>>Also worth pointing out that it can be the father who stays home.
>>
>>Tamar
>Not OK if the woman has to stay home but OK if the man has to stay home.
>Right.

Don't know how you read that in. FWIW, I'm a believer that we should make it possible for every family to have a parent at home at least for the first couple of years. (I think you know that I chose what I do specifically because I could work from home and be here when my kids left in the morning and when they came home at night. I also recognize that I'm fortunate to have skills and interest in a career that lets me do that.)

As I said elsewhere in the message that you're replying to, in my view, the big issue here is that the US doesn't have paid parental leave. Most western countries (and, in fact, most developed countries) do. Nice chart on that here: http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/15/422957640/lots-of-other-countries-mandate-paid-leave-why-not-the-us. Looks like 15 to 20 weeks is the most common.

Tamar