Incentives work. Either pay companies to achieve paternity leave targets, or fine them if they don’t, and we’ll see what happens to paternity leave rates. And

Incentives work. Either pay companies to achieve paternity leave targets, or fine them if they don’t, and we’ll see what happens to paternity leave rates. And for those of you who haven’t been through the process yourself, it’s hard to imagine trying to go through the first couple of weeks after a baby is born without it. For one, if your wife/partner/baby mommy has had a c-section, they will have to stay in hospital for a few days after the birth, because a c-section is nontrivial surgery that they will need to recover from. They and you will also need to start feeding/changing/bathing/soothing the new baby. If it’s your first, you’re learning how to do all this from scratch. And sometimes this is easy, sometimes it’s not. The logistics of simultaneously using a breast pump, and formula supplementation…let’s just say it’s a lot of work that nobody prepares you for. If it’s not, you’ve also got other kids who still require the usual amount of looking after, plus a bit extra because they’re often peeved about this new bundle of pooh, wee, and crying getting all the attention. And then you’ve got the logistics of all the friends and relatives who turn up and want to see your bundle of joy. And then, frankly, it’s your kid, and most fathers I went through the process with at roughly the same time wanted to be involved in all of this stuff, unlike their Boomer parents. I certainly did.