Parental Leave
“All our knowledge begins with the senses”
I don’t know how our parents did it before us. They toughed it out, but they should not have had to. As of 2022, it was not unheard of to hear that progressive US based companies were providing 6-months of 100% paid leave to employees. The generous time off uniformly available to adoptive and biological parents, and both mothers or fathers. Our family had a combined 7-months. Amazing, considering there are degenerates who actively speak against men taking parental leave.
I can tell you that the three plus months were not enough. Expanding your family is hopefully an intentional event, and that change is fraught with complexities; both known and unknown. Getting an ample window of time to bond, settle, and form routines is a benefit that should be made a federal mandate and not just a luxury for tech workers.
The United States is the only developed country whose government doesn’t guarantee paid leave to new parents.
Part of the mission in parenting is to help this new and innocent being in the world reach the meridian of their human potential. That process starts from day one, beginning with the most basic life necessities. A trust must be built, through trial and error, in order to transition to the more complex guidance and nurturing concepts. The sooner that connection and understanding is established, the deeper you can go in learning paths. This opportunity does not guarantee an outcome, just that time is available for teachable moments. If these instances can improve the outcomes of even 1% more children, is society not better off for it?
The physical toll of parenting is another reason why fully paid parental leave should be mandated. As a man I only had to deal with the fatigue of lost sleep, lifting and carrying a baby, the back and forth to appointments, etc. New mothers may have additional complications, birthing recovery, and feeding to deal with. Asking employees to interrupt the aforementioned bonding process early and deny them a window to manage the physical demands of childcare while also worrying about work is morally and fundamentally wrong. I know there are those who say that is the way it has always been. Doing something wrong 1,000 times in a row does not make it right. It just makes us worse off as a society by not learning from the past and improving upon it.
For even short employment tenures of 2-3 years, the time away on parental leave of say (3-months) is ephemeral. So too are the precious moments you get with your child in those early days and weeks. A brief window that cannot be relived or remembered by your little one as they get older. Offering a paid parental leave package can boost morale and increase retention at any company. Instead we often get some stammered and canned response about the high cost of offering paid leave by someone whose salary is 100 to 1000x the lowest paid employee. In the ocean of benefits available out there, it seems fishy that HR experts and corporate executives would resist such an offering. The question I am left with is, what human outcome do we collectively want for children and their caretakers? The answer to that should drive policy.
Source: Five Thirty Eight
