Should Men Get Paternity Leave?

I think they should get paternity leave, especially if there is more then one child in the family, it would make it difficult for Mum to look after say a toddler and then a new baby. Maybe not as long as what a mother might get for maternity leave, however I really think in this day and age, there should be paternity leave available for fathers.

 

Some companies, like the one I work at, already offer it as a gender-neutral benefit.

That said, I do think it is an important benefit. Assuming a heterosexual relationship... the mother needs to recover, and the father certainly should be a part of helping out during that time. Plus in the case of any relationship, and adoption or birth, there's various things that need sorting out with a new child in the family for both adults in the relationship. Getting time to get settled is important in my book.

I'm not sure why the amount of time should be gender-specific. If we want fathers to be more involved with child rearing, one way to do it is to give that time as a work benefit. One thing I've seen done at this job with new fathers is taking a little bit of time when the child is born to stay home and help the mother. Then take the rest of the leave after she goes back to work so the child still gets focused attention for a longer period of time after birth.

 

Well of course. Here in Sweden that's the norm. Some political parties even want forced equal paternity and maternity leave (right now the parents can choose how to split the leave).

 

I think it would be a nice benefit. I was 10 when my only sister was born and I got tired of living off of take-out :lol:. My mom had a high-risk pregnancy and had a C-section, so her recovery time was longer than usual; having my dad home for a while would have been nice.

Paternity leave can help parents help each other care for the new baby and also provide needed respite for the mother. Plus, the father can bond with his new child.

I think paternity leave is a good thing. I think it can also help LGBT couples if they were to adopt.

 

I don't understand why this is a question.

 

That won't matter.

 

Yes they should, because companys should never assume the living situation of their employees. It might be easier or more beneficial for the husband to take time off instead

 

I think they should. People always complain about fathers not being active in their childrens lives. Why not start right away. And the mom is going to need time to recover, not counting taking care of the child.

 

Absolutely. If it's more beneficial to the family, then by all means.

That said however, after I took my 2 weeks paternity leave (and a little holiday thrown in for good measure) I was actually glad to go back to work. It actually felt like a break. Parenting new borns is exhausting and going to the office (which I did before I became a radiographer) and sitting at my desk was easier than being at home chasing after the baby. Kudos to all parents that stay at home and do that.

Happy days

 

Is this not already a thing? It is in Sweden.

 

I work for a major financial firm in the States and we get it...

 

Where it isn't instituted, it is absolutely right that it should be.

 

Well, if it works in Sweden, it'll work here.

I freaking love Sweden.

YAS.

 

Yep, I absolutely think they should. I know it is already the case in some places, but it is a definitely a step in the right direction for places that don't have it.

 

2 weeks paid paternity leave only here (up to 26 weeks if the mother returns to work), and the majority of fathers take it, but fathers should be able to take paternity leave for the same duration as maternity leave, especially if the mother is the breadwinner of the household, or shared parental leave.

 

Yeah. I've sort of been taking it for granted.

Taken from Wikipedia:
"Sweden provides working parents with an entitlement of 13 months paid leave per child at 77.6% of the employee's monthly salary (up to a ceiling of about $3,400 per month (2013)), the cost being shared between employer and the state. In addition, parents also are entitled to an additional 90 days of leave at approximately $25 per day. Out of the total of 480 days paid parental leave, 60 days are reserved exclusively for each parent and are lost if not utilized. It should be noted that the paid days include weekends. Thus, 480 days is equal to about 16 months. Some Swedish political parties on the political left argue for legislation to oblige families to divide the 480 days equally between both parents."

 

Of course. I think it's quite regrettable in the United States that we don't have this. Apparently, having kids is one of the principle barriers for women in programming positions. They have kids and then leave, because the child-rearing burdens are too much. I think as a society, we need to do more to support child-raising, and part of that means empowering men to support their wives by supporting them economically as they support their other half.

Secondarily, I think the notion of "maternity leave" without "paternity leave" is breath-takingly heteronormative and unfair to same-sex couples. Two men raising children together may find that they need extra time. And this assumption that women--in addition to being penis homes--are also the ones who principally raise children harms everyone--insight that sexist from and outside it...

 

It's interesting that you should make this comment. I already mentioned that my firm provides paternity leave. Technically that is not correct, they provide primary parental care provider leave and secondary parental care provider leave--which for the majority of couples breaks down as maternity and paternity leave respectively but could be paternity and maternity leave respectively or even paternity/paternity or maternity/maternity. Many very large companies in the US are surprisingly progressive on this front...