I am sitting in the audience listening to a panel called Opting In/Opting Out in which a group of intelligent, likable women talk about their decisions to work or not work, or some variation of the two. The panel is part of Parent Map's Pathways series and is moderated by Mona Locke.

The panelists cover a lot of ground, sharing each of their personal stories, challenges, and perspectives. Kristin Rowe Finkbeiner of Moms Rising lends insight into some rather horrifying statistics, while Carolyn Harvey and Beth Herrild share interesting insights they obtained while doing research for their book, Comfortable Chaos.

There's barely time left at the end for questions. So when a woman stands up and asks what I think is the most interesting question of the night, there isn't time for the panelists to give it the attention that it deserves.

Why is this a conversation about women? Why does the language always point to MOMS? What about the dads?

It seems to me that, yet again, in the great To Stay at Home or to Not Stay at Home debate, the prospect and existence of the stay-at-home-dad has been overlooked, ignored, and forgotten.

It's too bad, really. Because there's some really great stay-at-home-dads out there.

And there's a lot more men who could be.

There are two lectures left in the Pathways series; The Teen Brain; what Parents Need to Know by Laura Kastner, Ph.D. and Making Marriage Work by Dr. John Gottman, Ph.D.

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