“The strangest thing that ever happened to me as a [stay-at-home dad] was riding on the Metro with both my kids and a guy asking me, ‘So where’s Mom?’ I couldn’t even think why in the world somebody would be asking me that question, so I couldn’t even muster an answer,” he said.

Other at-home dads worry about jealousy from working brethren (What are they really thinking about all that time spent with the women?). Or suspicion that they’re out of work. And dads on both sides of the divide report the occasional cold shoulder…

“I hate that phrase, Mr. Mom. I can’t imagine my wife going into the office and saying, ‘Hi everyone, it’s Mrs. Dad,'” said Dan Zevin, a humorist, at-home dad to two and author of a new book, “Dan Gets a Minivan: Life at the Intersection of Dude and Dad.”