It is our position parents should be supportive of each other. Somewhere between June Cleaver and Gloria Steinem, women started burning their bras and abandoning their aprons for a briefcase and a paycheck. Alas, the glass ceiling was broken bringing with it better pay and equal opportunities for women. Among the broken glass and shrapnel, there is a philosophical war brewing between mothers who work outside of the home versus those who choose homemaking.

At the root of the controversy seems to be a contest of martyrdom with the winner fetching the prize of who works the hardest. The men are also being dragged into the martyr wars with an increasing number of dads who choose to stay at home.

Every family has its own unique structure and set of financial and/or moral circumstances from which it makes decisions on how and who runs its household. Whether a parent chooses to stay at home or chooses employment outside of the home, both roles have equal impact on the well-being of children.

Stay-at-home parents should not have to validate their choice. Likewise, parents whose employment takes them outside of the home should not have to apologize for not being home as often as they would like.