Rugrats in the Academy

Professor B has a post about parental issues in academia, which I'll just use as a springboard for this observation: I've always been struck by the fact that "liberal" academia is frequently extraordinarily parent-unfriendly. Teaching college is exactly the kind of job which, with very minor accomodations by the employer, should be compatible with raising young kids. But, they lack facilities, child care support, and meaningful maternity leave. Institutions tend to be overly hostile for no good reason to parents who occasionally bring their kids to campus. And, the treatment of untenured female faculty members who have babies is unbelievable, even as they encourage you to put down local roots so you're less likely to scamper off somewhere else.