CBreezy

Women shouldn't have to leave the workforce and give up their careers just because they choose to have kids. Quitting your job to raise kids should be a choice, not a requirement. It is equally as responsible to take 6 months paid time off then have your kid attend child care as it is to quit your job at birth to raise them at home.

rickair7777

Well the feds are getting paid baby leave...


https://www.npr.org/2019/12/13/78763...ratic-priority

crewdawg

If you haven't seen missed deployments, then you haven't opened your eyes. I can think of more than for each of the previous 3-4 deployments my base has deployed. We had one lady who has been in 18 years who lost her mind and got out of it in other ways... She was beside herself because they were going to deploy her with "4 kids at home," nevermind she'll likely retire soon and have never deployed...mostly because of said 4 kids. I'm sure if I actually dug a bit, I'd find more.

I agree that women shouldn't have to give up their careers, but they also shouldn't get a free check to leave for a year (paid) every time they have a child. 3-6 months seems perfectly reasonable, but there has to be some kind of lifetime cap. It's completely unreasonable to potentially lose a worker for up to 3-5 years and get zero productivity. I would definitely not support the government subsidizing a full year for every child and I don't think it's fair to force that on a company.

symbian simian

Don't worry, it isn't the government that picks up the tab, it is the tax payers....

sailingfun

When I was in the military I thought we ran a nursery more than a squadron at times. It was uncanny how pregnancies often aligned with deployments. Many of the woman we had barely contributed at all to readiness because they were pregnant all the time. One woman had 4 babies during her 6 year enlistment. She openly bragged she was only there to have her babies when it was free! She was not married.

Red Forman

Who said it has to be the woman? I know plenty of stay at home dads because their wives had killer jobs. You can’t have your cake and eat it too when you decide to raise a family.

symbian simian

I definitely lean left, but my wife and I waited over 5 years before we had kids because we felt we were not ready financially. One or even two years of paid leave would not have made a difference, because it was the long term security we needed more. People that have kids because it is "free" are stupid, because after a year they start costing a lot of money. Obviously there is no shortage of stupid people, so unlimited baby benefits is not the way to go.

crewdawg

Ya, that's what I meant.

Ursus arctos

Everyone on this thread who was not a baby at the beginning of their lives, raise your hands. So... I suppose these maternity/paternity policies actually affect 100% of the population, not just those who choose to become parents themselves.
It is irrefutable that close parental involvement with developing children results in better outcomes later in life.

CBreezy

I never said it had to be a woman. In the post I quoted, and often in life, it is the women who are giving up their careers. The whole point is that neither parent should have to choose between a career and having a well-adjusted baby.