mtber75 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I heard from my brother who had lunch with my childhood friend (married and about to have a girl) and he (my brother) told me that he is taking 6 weeks off for a "parental leave?" I never heard this for would be father? I heard in Europe, they have something like this? Has anyone experience this? Is this like sick leave I guess? Link to post Share on other sites
Linda9999 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 In Canada there are 35 weeks of parental leave that can be taken by either or both spouses in any combination they wish. So they could both take 4 months together, or she could take the whole 35 weeks, or he could. Employment insurance pays you - your employer is not required to pay you, but they are required to hold your job for you. Link to post Share on other sites
Afishwithabike Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yeah, it would appear men are slowly turning into women in today's society. I couldn't imagine my now ex-husband "staying home" for 6 weeks after I had our son. He and I both would have laughed our asses off at that one. I actually miss the days when men were men and women were women. Can you explain what you mean? Dads shouldn't get time off to stay at home with a new child? Only women should take care of a child? My husband got time off from his employer. And why not? He's just as much a new parent as I was. Granted he didn't stay 6 weeks, but he had about 4 weeks of leave as I recall. It was a great bonding time for him and our daughter. We're both glad he did it. I don't see what's so funny about it. Link to post Share on other sites
Author mtber75 Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 Yeah, it would appear men are slowly turning into women in today's society. I couldn't imagine my now ex-husband "staying home" for 6 weeks after I had our son. He and I both would have laughed our asses off at that one. I actually miss the days when men were men and women were women. Yeah, I got to agree with you...What is he going to be doing for 6 weeks off? I mean I would understand it if the baby is sick or if you are an woman expecting. I guess if you can afford to take that time off than great! But base on what I know about him and his wife (I rant about this in my previous posts), he's taking the time off in order to please her? I didn't even mention this to him because I'm so embarrass that he's just a yes man! Link to post Share on other sites
Afishwithabike Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 What would the father do? If it's a new child (biological or adopted), you would feed the child, clean the child, give the child a bath, play with the child, get to know the child, bond with the child, hug the child..the list goes on. The only thing he couldn't do is breastfeed the child, but otherwise he could do pretty much everything a mother could do. Since many couples work today, it's only right that they decide between themselves who will take time off to be with the child rather than the company or government deciding that only the mother gets time off to be with the child. Link to post Share on other sites
Linda9999 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 So a dad who wants to bond with his baby is a 'yes man'?? Wow. I thought this was 2011, not 1850. Link to post Share on other sites
bigguy02 Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I took 7 weeks off with my first son and plan on taking 6 weeks off when my wife gives birth in a few months. The first time i was leaving the employer about 4 weeks after i returned so it was a good way to purge all the built up sick time, but as it turned out my wife had to have a c section so I was needed at home for the whole time. I will be taking 6 weeks off again for the same reason, if it were not for the c section i would most likely only take 3-4 weeks though. Link to post Share on other sites
Stung Posted October 15, 2011 Share Posted October 15, 2011 My husband took two weeks parental leave from work when our son was born; legally he could have taken six, but it wasn't practical for his actual position. The weeks after a baby is first born are difficult, and there's a massive adjustment period for both parents. What does the man do? Well, he is busy being a father. It's a big deal. I had to have a C-section, which is a pretty major surgery, and I could barely walk or take care of myself for the first couple of weeks. My husband did almost everything for our newborn and and brought our son to me every hour or two for nursing. Nursing is difficult and painful at first and requires more moral support and learning about technique than you might think, I was so grateful to have my husband by my side. We were both up all night, as our son figured out the difference between day and night--that alone takes a while. And we spent our time bonding as a little family, learning our son's patterns, teaching him our voices and touch. I wasn't happy when he had to go back to work, it was still painful for me just to lift our baby and walk across our condo, my mom had to come to help, and I would have loved more time alone as a new family, getting more confident in our new parenting roles. It doesn't make my husband a jerk that he had to go back to work then, any more than it would have made him a yes man if he had been able to spend more time at home. I realize that people who haven't gone through the newborn boot camp themselves don't really know what it's like, but I feel a bit sorry for people who think that a man who takes being a father seriously is somehow less of a man. Being a good dad is no joke, and it starts from day one. Link to post Share on other sites
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