Let's talk Parental Leave

[Cecelia]

Conservatives are in an uproar over Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg taking time off for paternity leave. So now I think is a good time to talk about parental leave.

It's a shame that we Americans live in a country where there's this idea that only women should get parental leave, and even then that they should only get unpaid parental leave. For a country that claims to care so much about children (I'm looking at you Right-wing party who tries to pass themselves off as the party of family values), we sure don't care about children.

Men and women should get equal amounts of parental leave. And there's many reasons for this:

#1. It gives men a chance to bond with their children. Yes, men need to bond with their kids. I know that the neanderthals think that men should never show emotion and that being a father is nothing more than putting food on a table, and maybe teaching them to drive when they reach 16. But bonding at such a young age is an IMPORTANT part of childhood development. And it's an important part of the parents lives. Many dads miss out on this chance because they aren't able to take time off work.

#2. It gives mom a break. Taking care of a baby is a lot of hard work. I know people think "Babies sleep all the time! They aren't that much trouble!" (Usually it's men who have never really taken care of a baby full time are the ones who think this. And I just have to ask: Why aren't they offering free babysitting services if it's so easy?) Splitting the role between both parents (and yes, this includes gay couples who adopt!) makes the job easier on both of them.

#3. It makes the workplace more fair. Women don't have to worry about competing with a disadvantage of 'maternity leave', which has been pervasive in our country. And Men don't have to worry about not being able to take off work to help with their family.

#4. It's fair. And we should strive to be fair.

Our work culture is so incredibly toxic, where we're expected to put our jobs above our families. Above ourselves. Time is an incredibly valuable resource. When I had my kids, I was fortunate to have a husband who was able to take time off from his work to help me take care of them. Contrary to popular belief, time off after having a kid isn't just about recovering from pregnancy (which does take time). It's also about the kids. And about the parents. Instead of being upset that Pete Buttigieg gets more parental leave than I do -- I'm upset that we don't get as much time as we should. In other countries, they provide more time -- and unsurprisingly, they're still doing okay.

[zebo-the-fat]

It's been "a thing" in the UK for several years, new fathers get two weeks leave I think (would need to look uo the details)

[onlinebiker]

Sure - let' s make it EASIER for those who can't afford it to senselessly procreate.....

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world...ata-series


Human population took over 50,000 years to reach 1 billion in the mid 1800s. 

Now in 200 years we have gone to just about 8 times that...

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Sure - let' s make it EASIER for those who can't afford it to senselessly procreate.....

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world...ata-series


Human population took over 50,000 years to reach 1 billion in the mid 1800s. 

Now in 200 years we have gone to just about 8 times that...

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

So not the point. So very, very much not.

Boru

[Pat Mustard]

It's been "a thing" in the UK for several years, new fathers get two weeks leave I think (would need to look uo the details)

In Ireland the father gets two weeks at full pay on the birth of a child, five weeks at social welfare rates to be taken up to the child's second birthday and finally up to twenty two weeks unpaid parental leave up until the child turns 13.

[brewer]

I didn't get leave, but frankly don't know if I would have taken it if offered. I'm just don't connect with newborns.

[The Grand Nudger]

I think back to the shit show of our first. Met a lot of dads going through what we were. A lot of them less fortunate. No paid leave, fmla ran out. Suddenly unemployed trying to take care of their wives and learn to care for an infant with a disability.

Seems like every new monthly visit we had in common one had lost their car or their house. Some just stopped showing up and you couldn’t imagine any positive explanation for it.

They could have used some parental leave.

[Brian37]

Conservatives are in an uproar over Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg taking time off for paternity leave. So now I think is a good time to talk about parental leave.

It's a shame that we Americans live in a country where there's this idea that only women should get parental leave, and even then that they should only get unpaid parental leave. For a country that claims to care so much about children (I'm looking at you Right-wing party who tries to pass themselves off as the party of family values), we sure don't care about children.

Men and women should get equal amounts of parental leave. And there's many reasons for this:

#1. It gives men a chance to bond with their children. Yes, men need to bond with their kids. I know that the neanderthals think that men should never show emotion and that being a father is nothing more than putting food on a table, and maybe teaching them to drive when they reach 16. But bonding at such a young age is an IMPORTANT part of childhood development. And it's an important part of the parents lives. Many dads miss out on this chance because they aren't able to take time off work.

#2. It gives mom a break. Taking care of a baby is a lot of hard work. I know people think "Babies sleep all the time! They aren't that much trouble!" (Usually it's men who have never really taken care of a baby full time are the ones who think this. And I just have to ask: Why aren't they offering free babysitting services if it's so easy?) Splitting the role between both parents (and yes, this includes gay couples who adopt!) makes the job easier on both of them.

#3. It makes the workplace more fair. Women don't have to worry about competing with a disadvantage of 'maternity leave', which has been pervasive in our country. And Men don't have to worry about not being able to take off work to help with their family.

#4. It's fair. And we should strive to be fair.

Our work culture is so incredibly toxic, where we're expected to put our jobs above our families. Above ourselves. Time is an incredibly valuable resource. When I had my kids, I was fortunate to have a husband who was able to take time off from his work to help me take care of them. Contrary to popular belief, time off after having a kid isn't just about recovering from pregnancy (which does take time). It's also about the kids. And about the parents. Instead of being upset that Pete Buttigieg gets more parental leave than I do -- I'm upset that we don't get as much time as we should. In other countries, they provide more time -- and unsurprisingly, they're still doing okay.

What the corporate global market, but especially America does not understand, is that  you cannot, nor should you, treat humans like numbers on a page, or mere tools for profit. That has a hidden cost to it, in stress, and mental and physical health, and that adds to health care premiums and bills going up over time. 

The GOP thinks about long term profits for the top, but claims oppression when the middle and working class think long term too, but don't have the buffer of money that the top does. It costs more to take the sink or swim attitude long term, that the GOP wants. If it is about money for the top, and the GOP then investing in worker health and stability will save more money long term.

[The Architect Of Fate]

Sure - let' s make it EASIER for those who can't afford it to senselessly procreate.....

https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/world...ata-series


Human population took over 50,000 years to reach 1 billion in the mid 1800s. 

Now in 200 years we have gone to just about 8 times that...

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

So not the point. So very, very much not.

Boru

Also, this assumes that the population will rise infinitely. While some data suggest the opposite is going to happen or at the very least it's going to be less extreme than we would expect.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53409521

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02522-6

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

So not the point. So very, very much not.

Boru

Also, this assumes that the population will rise infinitely. While some data suggest the opposite is going to happen or at the very least it's going to be less extreme than we would expect.

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-53409521

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02522-6

Yes, a missed point, with a nasty undertone of judgmentalism.

Here is Oz parental leave has been available in most industries for decades.  Currently it stands at 18 weeks to care for a new born.  

That was very much the case in my job in the Australian Federal Public Service. Work justice for women really began in 1970.  From that time, women here were paid the same men for the same job, rather than 70% which had been the case. Women no longer had to resign when they got married.

Leave in Oz  was always generous  over my working life:

Sick leave; 10 days a year on full pay. 10 days at half pay.  This was cumulative, with no upper limit. A doctor's certificate was required after 3 days. No longer the case from the early 90's. Everything was processed on line. That included daily time sheets and leave records. The system was regularly audited. A doctor's certificate could no longer be demanded. Cheating? Yeah, quite a bit actually, but I wasn't going t complain

Annual leave: 4 weeks a year on full pay. This was also cumulative, but was not permitted to grow indefinitely for the sake of the worker's health.

Long Service leave; 13 weeks at full pay after 10 years. Could also be taken at half pay, doubling time off.
 After the first ten years, long service leave continued to accrue at 9 days a year.  When I retired I had 5 months owing, which was paid out in full.

PLUS : There is a national superannuation scheme, in addition to any basic industry super: The employer must pay 17% of a person's wage into the scheme (above the weekly wage)

PLUS  Australia's minimum wage is currently $19.84 an hour. Some employers still rip off their workers. Notoriously, outworkers in the rag trade, who are paid a piece rate hic usually means less than half the minimum wage.  Fruit and vegetable growers notoriously rip off their pickers.  The workers are often students and backpackers.