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... ... middle of paper ... ...y and should be able to be there to play that role. Works Cited Abel, Katy. "Dads and Paternity Leave." Family Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2014. Fraxedas, Ashley. "5 Reasons Dads Should Take Paternity Leave." Parenting. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. Grinberg, Emanuella, and Emily Smith. "Paid Leave Lets Dads Build Parenting Foundation." CNN. Cable News Network, 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. Kelly, Jon. "The Politics of Paternity Leave." BBC News. BBC, 26 Aug. 2010. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. Livingston, Gretchen. "The Link between Parental Leave and the Gender Pay Gap." Pew Research Center RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Apr. 2014. Lobello, Carmel. "Why More Men Need to Take Paternity Leave." The Week. N.p., 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2014. . McGregor, Jena. "Paternity Leave Isn’t Just about Dads." Washington Post. N.p., 14 June 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2014.
“What is the Purpose of the Family and Medical Leave Act?” LawInfo. n.d. Web. 26 Jul 2011.
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Maternity leave is a controversial debate that has been discussed for many years and continues to this day being a controversial issue. There is one side that argues that women have a right for leave of absence in order to bond with the baby and recuperate physically. On the other side there is the argument that companies take a financial hit. Both sides provide valid points for being pro maternity leave or against it, but one must take into consideration the long-term impacts these positions have. Maternity leave is necessary not only for emotional development but also for economical productivity in the long run.
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
The Family and Medical Act (FMLA) of 1993 was America’s initial plan of “enabling workers to balance . . . work and family” (Cohen 213). Yet, many workers across the nation are unable to attain these benefits simply because their leave is unpaid (Cohen 214). Since the passage of the act, very little progress has been made in the fight for paid parental leave, causing the United States to be developmentally behind the rest of the world (Talbot). The United States’ family leave policy is severely inadequate and outdated. In order for the nation to progress politically and socially, reforming the present legislation into a model of paid parental leave can lead the United States in the right direction of growth. The current policy for parental
Toppo, Greg, “Obama urges absent fathers to re-engage in children's lives”. USA Today. 19 Feb, 2011. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-22-obamafathersday22_ST_N.htm
Miller, Amanda J. "Cohabiting Men's Preferences For And Roles In Determining The Outcomes Of Unexpected Pregnancies." Sociological Forum 27.3 (2012): 708-731. Academic Search Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
To go into more detail, the typical role of the father as far as childcare is concerned is usually to go to work so that he can receive the income to provide for his family. That’s not to say every family is like this but majority of people would consider this to be normal. Not only are males usually linked with providing income but they are also usually correlated with the act of discipline within the home. I think it’s safe to say that anyone who has ever heard these words “wait until your father...
With no pay and the risk of losing their jobs--if additional time is requested--parents return to work in as little as two weeks after the birth of a child. This results in the absence of one or both parents during the most crucial part of a child’s life—the first year of life. Ultimately, it is the children who will suffer. The events that take place in the early years of a child life, as well as the people that surround, will influence who they become. Children need love and guidance from their parents. Babies can learn so much, parents have the time to teach them and watch them grow. It is their duty as well as their rights as parents to enjoy the first moments of life with their children. Susan J. Douglas says, “The first five years of life are so crucial to cognitive and emotional development” (Douglas Par 8). Parents often send their babies to daycare at too young of an age because they are expected to return to work and have no other choice. Others quit their job because they do not want their babies to go to daycare. This creates a financial strain on families and has lasting effects on the newborn and other young children in the home. Sharon Lerner says, “Paid parental leave frees mothers and fathers from choosing between their careers and time with their infants” (Lerner 20). Paid family leave alleviates a great deal of stress for parents who are expecting. It makes starting a family less frightening because families have enough money and time to adjust with their new lives before returning to work. This makes workers less likely to call out of upon returning and more likely to be focused on the
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.
Recently women’s rights and women’s equality in the workplace has come back to the fore as a topic for discussion in government agencies and the United Nations. Whilst this is a very important topic, when it comes to time off from work when a new child is born, women in the US have some provision, whereas men have none.
By businesses allowing fathers to take time from work this grants time for a father-child bond to form. Being open to share duties with her significant other and both planning for new responsibilities of parenthood is very important to be prepared for their new child. Having more support from their spouse is a way of allowing both parties to be a part of the child 's life as well as not putting all the responsibilities on one parent. Allowing men to have this option whether to take maternity leave or not is eliminating stereotyping among women and men. Fathers are the primary care providers in a family, with them being off for maternity leave there is no income coming in for the family. However if maternity leave is paid for both mother and father, the income will still be coming in but is decreasing the business income. Businesses would be failing because they would be paying workers that are not
The typical role of an expectant father in America is to both support his partner throughout her pregnancy, and to prepare for the arrival of the coming baby. Although women’s bodies and emotions are undergoing most of the changes, the father goes through changes of his own to prepare for the baby. He carries countless different burdens and stresses that are often overshadowed by the mother’s pregnancy. Some of these include: focusing on how to afford the pregnancy, juggling his work and family, and und...
Mothers are the primary caretakers of the children. The fathers have had minimal care taking responsibilities. Many women, if they had a career before hand, have to give it up to stay at home with the child. Although, many fathers where the wives must work become important in the process of care taking because their role must increase to their children. Studies of human fathers and their infants confirm that many fathers can act sensitively with their infant (according to Parke & Sawin, 1980) and their infants form attachments to both their mothers and fathers at roughly the same age (according to Lamb, 1977).