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Paternity Leave

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Paternity Leave
Should Men Take Paternity Leave from Work
Katrina Baron
ENG/102

Vicki Lynn Samson

Everyone knows that expecting mothers take maternity leave from work when their child is born. With that being said according the Family Medical Leave Act excepting fathers are allowed paternity leave from work. In order to better support the mother of their child along with personally care for their child, a father should be allowed a paternity leave. Many employers do offer paternity leave but some offer it as unpaid leave. Men have not been taking advantage of the Family Medical Leave Act, particularly for paternity leave. “President William Clinton signed the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) in 1993” (Halverson, 2003). Once the Family Medical …show more content…
It is a good idea to give the expecting parents more choices concerning taking care of their newborn. With men being able to take paternity leave from work the new parents would be able to have choices over how they will divide paid work and childcare. New dads can take up to six months paternity leave to look after their newborn child (Phil, 2007). Which would mean that a woman would be able to give up six months of her yearlong maternity leave and pass it on to her partner (Phil, 2007). The father’s role is just as important as the mother’s role. Splitting up the leaves between the parents is one way to mitigate the damage. Splitting up the leave will also help the social stigma and change the way people think about paternity leave. Many mothers are not only the caretakers in the family, many of them make more than the fathers. Many couples do not want someone else watching and caring for their child for about the first year of their child’s life (Melvin, 1983). According to Gheaus, Robeyns, 2010, both employed mothers and fathers should be granted six months of paid leave from work. Each parent should take the leave at different time so that the damage of bills and not having money would be taken care of. The mother of course should take the first six months of so she can heal and everything. Especially if she plans on breast feeding her child. Once she returns to work the father should take the next six months off from work. The new …show more content…
Expecting fathers should be willing to talk to their employer to find out if they offer paternity leave or not. They have to right to take paternity leave from work and should make sure that their employer will be willing to offer it to them. Not just that they can talk to their partner about taking a paternity leave from work after they have returned to work. Expecting fathers should not have to miss out on too much of the first year of their child growing up.

References
Abel, K. (n.d.). Dads and Paternity Leave. Retrieved from http://life.familyeducation.com/working-parents/fathers-day/36483.html
Cooper, M. (2013). Paternity Leave Pros and Cons: It Could Cost You Your Job. Retrieved from http://www.policymic.com/articles/20565/paternity-leave-pros-and-cons-it-could-cost-you-your-job
Gheaus, A. (2010). Equality promoting paternal leave. Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/351766/Equality Promoting Paternal Leave
Hall, J. (2013). Why Are Men Afraid to Use Paternity Leave? Retrieved from
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