Paternity
leave.
If you would get paid time off work you would take it, wouldn’t
you? When given the chance at work men should take the paternity leave. “Paternity
leave is the time a father takes off work at the birth or adoption of a child
(babycenter)”. Paternity leave is becoming a huge thing to do in the United States.
More and more men are taking this leave every day. “Under
the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) passed in 1993, employees—both men and
women—are entitled to 12 weeks unpaid leave around the time of the birth of a
child, as long as they work in firms with at least 50 employees, and meet
minimum tenure and working hour requirements (maternity paternity)”. There are three major reasons to take paternity
leave and those are to benefit the mother, father and the baby, it shouldn’t be
up to the mother to do it all and it is important bonding time with the new
baby.
First and foremost, paternity leave is extremely beneficial
for the father, mother and the baby. When you are home with the baby and the mom
needs a nap, it is beneficial to both of you, mom gets rest and you get time
with the baby by yourself. It also helps the mom, it provides you with an extra
set of hands around the house. Clothes, dishes and diapers will be piling up. With
this set of hands it will cause less stress on the both of you. Not only less stress,
but your relationship with one another will not be as stressful when the dad is
around helping you with tasks. With less stress the happier everyone will be,
including the baby. If you are always yelling at each other the baby will hear
that and be fussy cause of the parents’ actions. No fussy baby is a good baby. You
will know everything that you need to know when you are home. You will know the
sleeping habits, what they like to eat and how they play. It will be beneficial
to you to know these small but huge details. A babysitter needs to know those
important details along with grandparents and friends. Also when the child is
older and they are looking back on things and ask you when and what age they
did these things, you will know. You will know this because you were home on paternity
leave with the baby.
In addition, the fathers need to spend bonding time with
the new baby. "I truly believe there's a bonding aspect to this. If you're
there every day, you're bonding as much with the child as the mom (FamilyEducation)”.
Family bonding time is something you will remember for the rest of your life,
something you won’t forget. It’s just as important for a father to bond with
the baby as the mother. If you don’t bond with the baby right away it will be
much harder in the further to connect with the child. The more you are there in
the beginning the easier it will be in the long run. You will then know what
the baby does, how they act and what to do to control them. The more you bond
with the baby the more that baby knows you. They will get used to you, know
your smell, and recognize your face and your voice. The baby will be all smiles
when you are around since they will know who you are. Bonding time is the most
important time you can have. That is why
taking the paternity leave is so important when given the opportunity too. The baby
might not remember the bonding time as an infant, but you sure will remember.
Lastly, it should not be up to the mother to take on all
the work. It did take both two people to make a baby, so why only have one
person take care of the baby. It can be dangerous when there is only one person
taking care of a baby. I say this because being a new mom is emotionally and
physically exhausting. You will not get all the rest you need to properly function
right, with this being said the father should be there to help. With the father
home from paternity leave the mom can then take a 30 minute nap without
worrying if the baby is up or if the baby is crying. It goes either way, if the
father takes care of the baby and is exhausting then the mom can watch the baby
while the father does whatever. Haven’t you ever heard the saying the more the
merrier? In this case this is true. The more people you have to help you out
the better. It would not be fair to the baby if the father did not pitch in. If
the mother does all the work when the child is a newborn how will it be when
they are a toddler, teenager or even an adult? They will not be as involved in that
child’s life as they should.
Don’t pass up something when you are given
the chance to take it. Don’t pass up valuable time you can’t get back. Spend every
moment you can with your family and your children. So take the paternity leave
when offered. If you don’t take it I have a feeling this is something you would
regret later down the road. Why miss out on something that you don’t have to? You
wouldn’t want to miss your child’s first word, walk and first smile. Don’t miss
this opportunity when it’s available. Take the load and stress of the new mom
and help her out, it’s not up to her to do it all. Bonding is very important at
an early age so bond with your child every chance you get. Also, it is very
beneficial for the father, mother and the baby. Don’t miss the chance to do
these things. Before you know it, it could be too late.
Works
Cited
""Choosing"
Work over Baby: The Reality of Parental Leave in the United States |
BlogHer." BlogHer Editors. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013
"Dads and
Paternity Leave." - FamilyEducation.com.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
"Family Leave
& Paid Sick Days." — IWPR.
N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013.
