Should Men Get Fully Paid Paternity Leave From Work Just Like Women?

1. 79

   ngurecoposted 15 years ago

   Should Men Get Fully Paid Paternity Leave From Work Just Like Women?

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2. 60

   scolley13posted 15 years ago

   As a father of two I have firsthand experience in actually having of children.  My wife is not a bimbo, and abortion is for murderers.  As far as leave goes, for either parent, taking care of a newborn is a full time job.  They get up at all hours of the day and night.  The parents get zero sleep.  Newborns require near constant feeding and attention, and that's from a father who was blessed with perfectly healthy children.  For those who must suffer the tragedy of raising a newborn with a health condition (and believe me, they are too numerous to list) the need for constant care is far greater.
   
   My wife took three months of maternity leave for both of our children.  The employer's cost for this is covered by the premiums we pay for short term and long term disability, so the net effect on the company and other employees is ZERO.  Anyone who says otherwise is an idiot.  Anyone who suggests getting an abortion as opposed to taking maternity leave is an idiot.  Abortion is entirely the choice of the parents, and is not a decision reached lightly in any circumstance.  To suggest otherwise is stupidity.
   
   As far as paternity leave goes, the option should absolutley be available to fathers.  Any man who has had children knows that his partner is exhausted after childbirth and taking care of  a newborn can be quite taxing.  The father should be there to not only care for the newborn, but also to provide comfort and assistant to the mother.  It is standard practice in the medical industry to provide new mothers with six weeks of recovery time after childbirth.  All kinds of factors affect this recovery period, from postpartum depression to the simple fact that gestating a life for 10 months takes a lot out of you.  Any woman can validate this for you. 
   
   For those who contend that any  leave for childbirth, maternity or paternity, is not needed, I suggest you attempt to bear a child and then tell me that you don't need time to recover.  Like I said before, this leave is covered by the insurance premiums that both my wife and I pay, There is no financial burden on others, and I can tell you from firsthand experience that any work that didn't get done while we were away was ready and waiting for us when we got back to work.
   
   Should men get paternity leave just like women?  Probably not, as we do not have to bear the physical burden as women do.  But real fathers carry an equal share of the emotional burden and if we are to be there to support the mother (as any real father and partner would) we must be afforded the time to do so.

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3. 59

   DemosthenesArkposted 15 years ago

   I don't see why not. Having a new child is a hell of an experience, so it's very draining, not only on the mother, but on the father as well. If it causes the father to miss work, then I believe that he should have set aside Paternity leave so that he can re-organize how is life is without having to worry about drama at work.
   
   And dabeaner- you're an idiot, maternity leave doesn't encourage woman to become bimbos. It's exactly like I explained previously. Just because the woman is getting paid to set up the house for the new child, doesn't mean that she's going to go pop out a few more kids because "she gets paid to do it."

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4. 74

   the pink umbrellaposted 14 years ago

   Dabeaner- wow. you are seriously in need of mental evaluation. Im all for a woman's right to decide for herself if she needs to get an abortion, but maternity leave is disability leave. So a woman is unable to work for a few months because she had a baby, so what? That makes her a bimbo? Are you out of your ever loving mind??? I think that yes, if a man is going to stay home and have equal parts in the first few months of his childs life (half the daipers, soothing, feeding) than he should get paternity leave. It would be amazing to have that first few months to bond with your child. Abortion is not something that you just get. it has to be thought about, and all other options considered. (financial help, adoption....) You dont just go and do it because you feel like being selfish after not having safe sex and being careful. I think the only time i would consider it, would be if the child inside me was going to come out a vegetable, or have no quality of life. Seriously, is your opinion that women with careers that they want to keep by the way, can never have children. Your a yuppie, and i hope you choke on your next meal. Maybe your mother should have considered other options. How about that? How about we yank you out of your warm bed with a sharp metal hook because we just cant carry the burden of your stupidity? i dont even care if this gets me in trouble, you are the worst kind of person imaginable.

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5. 61

   A Human Beingposted 14 years ago

   yes, if they chose to play that role.  hahaha, reading peoples ignorance to the world around them is funny.  "Men need to be men..." lmao that's the only correct part of his sentence considering it does take a real man to be a father and raise a child not a sperm doner that uses a cop out of working 24/7 as an excuse to not taking responsibility for his own family.  and "I believe she should use her paid vacation time before any kind of paid maternity leave is considered. Why, because I to do not believe it is an employers responsibility..."  takes the cost to be the boss!  procreation is a part of our existence.  thinking that way would eliminate 99% of our workforce and the ones that chose or forced to stay (the way it is now) we end up with an epic amount of dysfunctional families.  lmao vacation time?  how is that a vacation in any way, shape or form?  either way the rest of the world, i think, has a great thing going.  backwards thinking, is just that, backwards!

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6. 76

   Uninvited Writerposted 14 years ago

   Many people split maternity leave. The woman takes half a year off to bond with the baby and then the man has a chance to stay home and bond with the baby. Many companies allow this.
   
   People in Canada receive part of their salary during maternity/paternity leave, and the rest is supplemented by unemployment insurance that everyone pays into.

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7. 69

   goody7posted 14 years ago

   Men can always get FMLA FOR THE BIRTH OF THEIR CHILD.

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8. 61

   Variety Writerposted 13 years ago

   I believe men should get at least one week paid days off so that they can bond with their newborn baby... and help out the new mommy.

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9. 48

   lovelydiverposted 13 years ago

   I think fathers should get paternity leave for at least a little while to help out the mother. It takes a lot to have a new baby and the parents need time to recooperate afterwards. And all that men need to be men and provide, what about the women that provide? Sometimes in this day and age women get paid more than their spouse, so we are just supposed  to take a pay cut because some people are stuck in the dark ages? Thats simply stupid.

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10. 80

    DexisViewposted 13 years ago

    In the US men are entitled to paternity/maternity leave under the FMLA just like women, but FMLA does NOT entitle either to fully paid leave.
    A mom would be paid if she has short term disability insurance as she actually delivered the baby, but a dad would not be entitled to short term disability insurance as this benefit covers you for medical related incidents that prevent the employee from being able to work.  The dad would not qualify for a medical reason.
    The only way to get paid would be to save up your vacation/personal time.

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11. 68

    DonDWestposted 13 years ago

    I'm all for it, increases family options when accomodating the birth of a child.

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12. 60

    lovelife08posted 13 years ago

    I believe they should.  Why should the father have different treatment than the mother just because he is not carrying the child?  The mother can't take care of the baby by herself.  Even single mothers have to hire babysitters and leave the baby with family members when she goes to work or goes grocery shopping or something.  And it is just as important for a father to bond with a new baby as it is for the mother to bond with a new baby.  Fathers who want to be involved, should be allowed to be involved.

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13. 72

    Mel Jayposted 13 years ago

    Absolutely men should get fully paid paternity leave.  Men need to be able to look after their children if they chose to, and what if the mother is sick or for some other reason can't look after the child? Why should men miss out on the joys of parenting a new baby?  Men spend too much time at work missing out on their children growing up as it is.  Anything that allows men to be home and to form a greater bond with their child is positive.

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14. 76

    Rob Wintersposted 13 years ago

    Yes i believe that ideally they should. Obviously if it can only go to one parent it should be the mother but there are inherent inequities affecting this ' most usual' scenario. In my country there is no statutory paternity leave and women are entitled to 6 months maternity leave but it depends on your employer as to whether that is paid or not.In my situation i work for a state employer that does provide paid maternity leave and my wife works for a private company which does not. My wife and i had a child at the same time as 2 of my female work colleagues - my family then became a 1 income family where as my colleagues families remained on 2 full incomes - this seems somewhat unfair to me as had myself and my wife had each others jobs we'd have remained on 2 incomes and if men could avail of paid paternity this financial impact could have been somewhat reduced by me being able to take some paid leave and allowing my wife to return to work when she felt ready to do so. It's of great benefit to the child and the mother for the father to be able to be present for the first number of weeks. Societies in most western countries were population growths are levelling off or declining are also dependent on people reproducing in order to be able to support the pensions etc of the ever growing elderly proportions of our societies so this should be facilitated.The financial impact of having been reduced to a single income did impact how long we waited before deciding to have another child.I also believe that if men recieved paid statutory paternity leave it would reduce the reluctance you sometimes find for employers to employ women of child bearing age.
    
    I do believe however that women should be protected in these arrangements.Perhaps a couple should for example recieve 6 or 9 months paternity between them with 4 or 6 of those months auomatically being allocated to the woman and the remaining 2 or 3 months being flexible in that they could be either used by the father or as additional leave for the mother or a mix thereof.

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15. 60

    Ochreposted 13 years ago

    Yes they should definitely get fully paid paternity leave, without a shadow of a doubt.

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