By Siobhan Heekin-Canedy, The Public Discourse - ,.. I hesitated to admit that when it comes to work and family, family comes first. I feared that acknowledging the priority of home and children would undermine my belief that women are needed in the public sphere... I had unconsciously absorbed our culture’s insistence that children and parenthood (particularly motherhood) are career obstacles to be overcome, rather than goods in themselves... with time and experience have I become aware of this cultural messaging and grown comfortable stating what I knew, deep down, all along: that children are more important than any job.