We've thought this for a very long time as well. Fathers were taken out of the home, then mothers and then conveniently so were the children (public school, daycare, extracurriculars etc... while mom and dad are working long hours).
Ours was a farming family and my dad was around the house more than most. Yes, he'd get up early and be out of the house for 5 AM but he'd come in for breakfast around 9-10 and we'd get to see him. He'd come in for lunch and barring problems around the farm he'd be there for supper too. He was never so far away that we couldn't go visit him during the day. Some of my best memories are going to the barn with him. In fact there are a couple of songs that instantly trigger those memories because he played the radio over the barn speakers and they happened to be the popular songs of the time. They are very nostalgic for me.
I know there are many even among trads who get very defensive when "the land" is cited as one of the best ways not only to live but to raise a family. I chalk it up to a bit of ignorance. Many really do not know what they are missing. It is one of the best ways to live as a family. A unit that lives together, works together, interacts with each other, and lives closest to God's creation, pure and simple.
If you're homeschooling to boot, well, then you've got Dad, Mom and children all together. If a person reacts to that as if it were a nightmare, there's something wrong with them and their view of family.
Of course that togetherness isn't only achieved farming. Many businessmen now have home offices. Some families have apartments attached to their stores. They are also in better positions to keep the family together as a unit. There are many ways to go about it if a family makes it a priority and doesn't get sucked into the idea that today's habits are normal or anywhere near healthy.
I did have one thought about her remark that work is his life. Bishop Williamson always gave conferences regarding men being centered in their work. Generally speaking this is natural and good. It is their God-given place, not only as providers for their families but for themselves as men, dominating the earth. Then women, in their role as helpmates, and children are centered around the men. There's a natural order and hierarchy. But there's a feminist streak out there that wants men to revolve around wives and children to the same extent as wives and children revolve around men. They lack the perspective of work being the man's directive from God and intrinsic to his identity and well-being. They want him essentially to "adore" his wife and children and make them the center of his universe. I don't think this is what the woman was thinking, I know she is referring to the non-family-oriented way this society is set up. But it's good to keep in the backs of our minds for balance.