By Elizabeth Hovde

I would have stayed seated during one of the only moments thatCongressional leaders clad in white stood up and cheered during the State of the Union. President Donald Trump’s remark that “all Americans can be proud that we have more women in the workforce than ever before” worried rather than encouraged me.

I saw it as a possible indicator of a more difficult road for American children, communities and families -- both single-parent and married ones. More women than men are still at-home caregivers, after all.

Did “more women in the workforce” mean fewer parents were staying home? Did it mean fewer women received fair monetary support after being left to raise children on their own? Was society succeeding at convincing parents that their work in the home was unnecessary? Or did more Americans feel it was impossible to afford a family without having two parents work while children receive daily care from grandparents, daycare or xBox?

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 33.9 percent of women were in the labor force in 1950. That climbed to a peak of 60 percent in 1999. Dual careers and incomes are ideal for some parents, but for others they are a source of pain and result in a feeling that they’re doing everything half-way. I’ve known more women than not in my 13 mothering years who regretted seeing their children – and perhaps their spouses -- for just an hour or two each day.

Progress for women has taken a toll on many of them.

There’s great value in having one spouse or parent -- man or woman -- running the home and caring for children instead of working outside the home. It’s a value too few see.

I’ve been hopeful that having more men taking on the role would raise recognition for the selfless contribution. Choosing to stay home and manage the family’s affairs -- volunteering in schools, offering children daily stability, hosting playdates, paying bills, running for groceries, making meals and helping keep homes clean -- can make life more manageable and enjoyable for everyone. Of course money makes family life more manageable in other ways, but I’d argue money can’t buy the benefits realized from an at-home parent’s contribution.

At-home caregivers also benefit schools, which are erroneously thought responsible for turning out quality students when kids are there just six to seven hours a day for less than half of the year. A lot of kids don’t arrive fed because there isn’t a parent at home to nag them to at least eat a banana. Volunteer hours are less possible for parents working jobs in addition to raising kids, too. And as the mom of two middle-schoolers, I can tell you that the need for parent oversight and an adult’s presence in a home doesn’t go away when kids hit double digits.

I’d be quick on my feet to cheer an increase of at-home parents. If Trump had said we could all be proud that women have more family and career options available to them than ever before, as well as good laws supporting women, I would have high-fived one of those women in white.

For too long, women -- and now men -- who stay home to run families have been treated as less than. Less interesting. Less knowledgeable. Less important. That’s adding insult to sacrifice. At-home caregivers already give up future take-home pay as a result of the working years on pause, along with retirement benefits, career advancement and sick pay. They shouldn’t have to take that societal attitude directed toward at-home parents, too.

And while research shows that the number of stay-at-home parents isn’t growing, the make-up of the group is changing for the better. A Pew Research analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data in September says “the stay-at-home share of U.S. parents was almost identical to what it was in 1989, but there has been a modest increase among fathers.” Seventeen percent of all stay-at-home parents in 2016 were fathers, up from 10 percent in 1989.

Stay-at-home moms and dads account for about one-in-five parents in the U.S. Author Gretchen Livingston writes “the long-term uptick in dads at home is not driven solely by economic factors. The modest increase is apparent even after excluding those who were home due to unemployment.”

The National At-Home Dad Network says more men than ever are choosing the profession. The organization not only gets the “less than” problem and promotes the role’s value, it hosts at-home dad conventions, connects fathers and advertises resources.

As the genders better share this sacrificial work, at-home moms and dads could use the same standing ovation politicians are giving those who work outside of the home.

I’m clapping for them.

Elizabeth Hovde’s column appears on the fourth Sunday of the month.