Bringing a new baby into the world is one life changing experience. The lives of both the mother and the father are changed tremendously as they begin to learn to raise a child by trial and error. Maternity leave for mothers of newborns is never disagreeable; when it comes to paternity leave, however, it becomes one of the most controversial topics of the workforce. Reasons for maternity leaves and paternity leaves are both justifiable. Men should have the opportunity to take paternity leave from their jobs so that they can be a helping hand to the mother, have a chance to bond with their newborn child, and help bridge the gap in gender equality in the workplace without the stigma and criticism. After the birth of the child, women can become emotionally and physically fatigued, so men take an important role as care giver and supporter, especially in the first few weeks. If a father has an opportunity to stay home for the first couple of weeks, to care for both the mother and his new child, it will make a big impact for the family.
Men have the same rights and obligations, as a child’s birth mother, to spend quality time, bond with, and care for a new baby. With some families living isolated from close relatives, it may be difficult for the mother’s family to support her after the birth of the child. “A study released in January found that fathers who took two or more weeks of leave upon their child's birth are more likely to be involved in the direct care of their children beyond leave” (Gringleburg). The time proceeding childbirth is the most stressful and tedious time. Parents have to adjust to the new baby and his or her schedule, especially the mother. With the both parents home, a lot of the stress is taken off the mother be...
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...y and should be able to be there to play that role.
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They do not live together, and Jane finds herself having to take care of the baby by herself, while her boyfriend is working and unable to help out most of the time (Urman, 2015). The larger the gap is in terms of childcare responsibilities; the more problems couples tend to have (Berk, 2014). This is especially true for Jane and her boyfriend, leading to them breaking up rather quickly as a result, as well as differences in parenting and her attention being solely on their son rather than their relationship as a couple. It is abnormal for parents to separate following a childbirth, but the two work out their differences quickly and decide to have shared custody of their child even though they decide to no longer be together. (Urman,
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If you and your significant other had a child, would you want to be there to not only support your partner, but to see your child’s first milestones in real life? Of course you would! The problem is most parents miss crucial parts of their child’s life because of the lack of paid maternity and paternity leave in the United States. New families, across the nation, should be allowed a minimum six months of paid maternity leave.
...ncine D., and Lawrence M. Kahn. "The Gender Pay Gap: Have Women Gone as Far as
This policy allows working couples to choose how they balance their work and parenting commitment to their new baby. The first two weeks are reserved for the mother but the remaining fifty weeks can be shared between both parents (Glegg, Swinson, 2013).This will definitely give chance to fathers to bond with their infants on an equal footing with the mother. Sarkadi, et al (2007) also suggests that policies should be made that fathers of young children may choose to do part time jobs so they can have time with their
Toby is an employee of Sunshine & Daisies Inc. He works as an accountant for S&D’s management department. Toby’s wife, Rebecca, has a due date for their first child in a week. To help take care of the newborn while Rebecca recuperates, Toby requested paid-time off. However, his manager denied the request, scheduling Toby to work the following week. Sadly, many corporations do not think about offering paternity leave to father’s of newborns.
Overall the Family and Medical Leave Act has raised many issues on whether leave should be encourage and/or paid for by the employers. As of today, no haven policy has been enacted to tackle the challenges surrounding this issue, but positive steps have been taken and one day there will be no question that hard working employees will get the rights they
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In David Blankenhorn’s book written in 1995, he brings to light what he calls “America’s fundamental problem”: our culture of fatherlessness. Our modern day view of fathers is that they are unnecessary both in society and in the upbringing of a child. Blankenhorn argues the contrary: the only way to solve the multitude of social problems present in America is to address the common denominator, the decline of fathers and the shrinking importance of fatherhood. Blankenhorn’s book is split into three parts: Part I: Fatherlessness, Part II: The Cultural Script and Part III: Fatherhood. In Fatherlessness, he provides the history of fatherhood and includes statistics that help to illustrate the transition of the father from head of the household to being “almost entirely a Sunday institution” (pg. 15).
(5) Maltais, Michelle, Maternity Leave in America: How do we stack up? (http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/16/news/la-sh-maternity-leave-benefit-20140115), Los Angeles Times, 2014, Website
Starting and expanding families is challenging for most working people in America. Job uncertainty, financial insecurity and catering to the needs of a newborn are just a few of many challenges American families face when taking a leave of absence from work after the birth of a child. Every company should have a family policy that gives its employees the option to take paid leave if a family emergency occurs—most importantly the arrival of a newborn. Paid family leave will give working parents in America the chance to adjust to the lifestyle changes associated with having a newborn, without putting the stability of their home at risk. Pregnancies will be less stressful for mothers and fathers; businesses will increase production and the economy
Although the expectant father’s role is not as clear and defined as the expectant mother’s, fathers still play a large part in all aspects of the pregnancy and birth. In earlier times, the father’s role was limited and overlooked, but this has changed drastically. Today, they are encouraged, and often expected to attend all doctor’s visits, take birthing classes, and even serve as a labor coaches during delivery.
The wage gap between men and women is widely recognized, however there also exists a gap between mothers and women without children. While full-time working women without children earn 7 percent less than their male colleagues, mothers earn 23 percent less (Nelson 20). Even after controlling factors such as education, work commitment, and timing of return to the workforce after giving birth, working mothers earn 3% to 5% less than women without children (Miner et al. 60).