Should fathers parent?

There is a fascinating discussion going on at the Chronicle of Higher Ed right now about family leave, gender, and the rights of childless people.
An untenured male professor wants to use FMLA to care for his soon-to-born child. He was essentially told by his chair that this would amount to career suicide, as would not coming in regularly during the summer, even though he is on a 9 month contract.
The comments go on for many pages, but some interesting questions arise:
Is FMLA a “benefit” to parents that is thus unfair to the childless, even though it is government madated and unpaid?
Is it ever okay to bring a child to work? If so, when and how often? Does bringing your child entitle the childless to bring in dogs and talking parrots?
Should the childless ever make any concession of sacrifice whatsoever for the benefit of those with children?
And finally, should fathers be considered parents, as epitomized by this comment:
I don’t mean to be snarky–well, OK, maybe a little–but I don’t get it. I know I come from blue-collar country folk, and maybe that’s the difference, but how the hell is it that my dad never had to take off work when my sister and I were born, way back in the stone ages of 1950 and 1960? And my husband didn’t take off work when I had our girls in 1988 and 1991, save the days I actually gave birth. Even when we were discharged from the hospital, we arranged it so he could get us after he got off work. (And no, I didn’t have a house full of help–my mom stayed 4 days after the first was born, because I had a C-section, and not at all after the second, who wasn’t a section.) And for the record, my dad was extremely close to both of us girls, as is my husband with our daughters, so apparently life went on and both men bonded just fine with their children. Seriously–I’m just asking. I honestly don’t get it. Would it have been nice to have the dads around for us? Sure, but it was OK the way things worked out, too.
There is a fascinating discussion going on at the Chronicle of Higher Ed right now about family leave, gender, and the rights of childless people.
You can read the whole thread at here.