As a father, the idea of 6 months or more of paid parental leave would have filled me with terror. I got 2 weeks and was thrilled to go back to work.
So yes: maybe fathers taking much more responsibility for their babies should be normalised... 🤭

The same amount of paid parental leave will help families with stress, parenting, and emotional connection to their child and each other.

• Fathers and mothers should take equal amounts of responsibility in raising their children. Having the same amount of paid parental leave could help some fathers/mothers take more of an active role in parenting rather than having to return to work.
• Paid parental leave has positive impacts on the health of children because parents can monitor their child’s health more closely, stay up-to-date on immunizations, and their engagement with the child increases during this time.
• Fathers who are offered paid paternity leave have been shown to feel closer to their child and couples’ divorce risk dropped and remained low for years to come.
• The physical and emotional toll of pregnancy and giving birth can lead to multiple postpartum disorders in mothers. If their partners are offered the same amount of paid parental leave, they can offer support, resources, and aid to mother’s that may experience postpartum stress.

Does giving women a longer amount of paid parental leave assume they should be primary childcarers?

-Men are entitled to 1 to 2 weeks of paid paternity leave whereas women are entitled up to 52 weeks of maternity leave. However, only 39 of these weeks are paid. There is also the option for Shared Parental Leave and Pay Where the 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay can be shared between both the mother and father.
-Maternity leave obviously provides a period of rest and recovery for women, having carried a child for up to 40 weeks and then going through the experience of labour. However, as highlighted here ‘The purpose of maternity leave is to enable an employee to care for and bond with a newborn.’ Does giving women a considerably longer period of paid parental leave presuppose that they will be the primary child careers. I think giving men more parental leave allows fathers to too bond with children and take on more equal roles when it comes to childcare responsibilities.
-However, if it was the case that extended paid paternity leave would affect how much paid leave women receive I think that may pose an issue. In order to supplement the additional wages for paternity leave, it may be the case the reduce the entitlement currently available for women. 39 weeks total to just under 8 months. These months of which some of the most important in a newborn’s development. It is also recommended that women continue breastfeeding for ‘up to 12 months’
-So reduced maternity leave for women would undermine the strengths in increasing paternity leave.