"When I told people I was taking more than eight months of parental leave, the main reactions I got were: What are you going to do with all that time? and won't you get bored? These questions came from every direction including health professionals involved in my wife's pregnancy and the arrival of our second child. More than halfway through my leave, I've been reflecting on what good parental leave looks like:"
"Three in five dads in the UK take some paternity leave, but the primary reason why leave is not taken or is kept as minimal as possible is financial, with many unable to afford the luxury of spending time with their newborns. Shared parental leave usually the only way to take more than a couple of weeks is a headache to understand let alone apply for, and usually relies on the mother giving up part of her own leave."
A parent taking more than eight months of parental leave encountered repeated questions about how the time would be spent and whether boredom would set in. Reactions came from friends, family and health professionals during a second pregnancy. A workplace policy now provides six months of paid parental leave in addition to annual leave, allowing a return when the child is eight months old. Previously, only short paternity leave was affordable, forcing reliance on a partner's maternity leave. Financial constraints are the main reason many fathers take minimal leave. Shared parental leave is complex to apply for and often reduces the mother's own leave.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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