So which is it? All last year, I was forced to endure gawd-awful stories about how wonderful at-home motherhood was, and how women were swarming out of the workforce to stay home with their little ones. You'll probably recall that I was less than impressed by these stories, which seemed to take little notice of the fact that most families included mothers, children and fathers, and that fathers, too, were taking more time with the kids.

The pendulum has swung. Newsweek has weighed in with a cover story about how at-home moms are overcommitted, miserable wretches. The story is by Judith Warner and is promoting her new book, "Perfect Madness," about how nutty modern moms are. Of course, dads are pretty much left out, as Patricide points out. That is a good thing; the last time Warner wrote about guys, it was in this New York Times piece that basically said stay-at-home motherhood was ruining the lives of husbands by forcing them to work too hard.

I suspect the blogosphere will see a lot more bashing of Warner's piece (and the book), but it worth pointing out that a lot of her overarching themes are true: parents and kids are overscheduled, there's not enough part-time work, there's no such thing as part-time daycare, daycare is overpriced and under-regulated. In short, I buy her prescriptions.

But what rubs me the wrong way is her view of modern parenthood as a joy-robbing slog. Having a kid is not the ecstatic joy that it's often painted as being, but it ain't drudgery, either. Given the choice, I'd rather be on the playground than the cubicle.