6 ms·

I'm lucky enough to be Canadian and we've had universal parental leave for some time now, though not at full pay. Of my group of 5 close families, all of them

I'm lucky enough to be Canadian and we've had universal parental leave for some time now, though not at full pay. Of my group of 5 close families, all of them ended up taking some form of parental leave. One parent was initially told no by her company before she pointed out that the government enforced this and the company couldn't say no. Most did things like rent a house somewhere else and stay for 2-3 weeks. All of them still rave bout this as being some of the best times of lives. If you do ever get the chance to do this, I recommend doing it with another couple in the same situation so you have a built in baby sitter so you can go out to diner without having to worry about who is watching your new born. Just to show the other side, one of my friends sent out this article below to highlight the downside of parental leave. As this becomes more common, I think companies will learn but it can still be a sticky topic. http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-strategy/the-dark-side-of-maternity-leave/ http://www.canadianbusiness.com/business-strategy/the-dark-s...

soperj 10y ago
Yep, I took 4 months with each of my kids. I got topped up to 80% though by my work. Easily the one of the best choices I've made.
serge2k 10y ago
> If you do ever get the chance to do this, I recommend doing it with another couple in the same situation so you have a built in baby sitter so you can go out to diner without having to worry about who is watching your new born. That actually sounds like a really clever system.
anamoulous 10y ago
I hope to one day have children and experience these things, but this runs counter to the narrative that parents put forward rationalizing why these kinds of benefits should not be afforded to people who choose not to have children. Often I've seen the argument that having and raising children is, itself, a form of work not a vacation or that having children is a form of public good and that's the reason why we can't all just have a standard paid "leave of absence".
- silencio 10y ago
  That narrative is a bit strange in the US, as the only federal/state mandated leave afforded to new parents (if they even qualify) is one that covers major medical/caretaker leave too.
- gaius 10y ago
  raising children is, itself, a form of work This would be true if the child were the property of the company paying for its raising ;-)
  - anamoulous 10y ago
    There's a problem in language here too. Obviously a child isn't a form of paid work in service of a company, but if not work and if not vacation what is this? If this is a medical leave, then how do we extend this opportunity for medical leave to those who choose to not or cannot have children? Or do we just say that having children is just that, having children, and that parenting is a privileged class?
    - gaius 10y ago
      On a planet of 7Bn with dwindling resources the case that making more people should be rewarded or subsidized isn't very convincing.
      - cgio 10y ago
        If you don't subsidize another country will. Where will that get you in a couple generations.
        gaius 10y ago
        What are you saying, that only children of your own race matter?
        anamoulous 10y ago

soperj 10y ago

Yep, I took 4 months with each of my kids. I got topped up to 80% though by my work. Easily the one of the best choices I've made.

serge2k 10y ago

> If you do ever get the chance to do this, I recommend doing it with another couple in the same situation so you have a built in baby sitter so you can go out to diner without having to worry about who is watching your new born. That actually sounds like a really clever system.

anamoulous 10y ago

I hope to one day have children and experience these things, but this runs counter to the narrative that parents put forward rationalizing why these kinds of benefits should not be afforded to people who choose not to have children. Often I've seen the argument that having and raising children is, itself, a form of work not a vacation or that having children is a form of public good and that's the reason why we can't all just have a standard paid "leave of absence".

silencio 10y ago
That narrative is a bit strange in the US, as the only federal/state mandated leave afforded to new parents (if they even qualify) is one that covers major medical/caretaker leave too.
gaius 10y ago
raising children is, itself, a form of work This would be true if the child were the property of the company paying for its raising ;-)
- anamoulous 10y ago
  There's a problem in language here too. Obviously a child isn't a form of paid work in service of a company, but if not work and if not vacation what is this? If this is a medical leave, then how do we extend this opportunity for medical leave to those who choose to not or cannot have children? Or do we just say that having children is just that, having children, and that parenting is a privileged class?
  - gaius 10y ago
    On a planet of 7Bn with dwindling resources the case that making more people should be rewarded or subsidized isn't very convincing.
    - cgio 10y ago
      If you don't subsidize another country will. Where will that get you in a couple generations.
      - gaius 10y ago
        What are you saying, that only children of your own race matter?
        anamoulous 10y ago