Should men have paternity leave from work?

After birth, it is important for both parents to be around the newborn baby to enable bonding. Because of this, men should have paternity leave from work. Although many people argue that men do not play a critical role after the birth of their baby that deserves leave from work, it is necessary to note that children need to bond with both parents after birth because they play an important role in the growth and development of the baby.

According to (Scribner 6), men who take paternity from work are directly involved in the growth of their children, and they help to instill values such as compassion and empathy from a young age. This helps them to grow in a disciplined manner where they will show compassion to their friends, families, and even strangers.

Young children require much attention and mothers are usually overwhelmed with the tasks they need to perform after they give birth (Bluethmann 12). Men should take maternity leave to help their wives to take care of the newborn so that she can perform other duties without much pressure. Men can also assist in performing some chores around the house while the mother is nursing the baby to avoid instances where the mother is too tired to take care of the baby.

Men should take paternity leave from work because it will help them to bond with the baby when it is still young. Fathers who fail to take paternity leave are usually overwhelmed with work from the office and in some cases they leave early and arrive home late. When they get back home, the child may be asleep, and this does not create any bond between the father and child as they do not spend time together. Fathers who take time off from work form a special bond with their children because they spend much time with them. They are present when they are feeding, during bath time, and they even participate in putting them to sleep. They closely monitor their activities, and this helps to strengthen the bond between them. Most of the children who bond with their fathers from birth are known to develop high self-esteem, and they rarely have behavioral problems. They also tend to be happy as compared to their counterparts. Fathers who take paternity leave also tend to be happy because they derive a huge satisfaction from performing duties such as changing diapers, putting them to sleep, and how to calm them down when they are crying (Jackson 8). It also makes it easy for the fathers to attend to the baby when the mother is not around as they can perform the duties with ease.

From the discussion above, it is evident that men should take paternity leave from work. For a long time, leave after the birth of a child has been given to mothers only but it is necessary for men to be accorded the same privilege. The paternity leave will help fathers to instill good morals in their children such as compassion and empathy. These qualities will be important to the child when it grows up as the child will know how to relate to people. Paternity leave also helps fathers to help their wives with the baby and other house chores to prevent the mother from getting tired. Bonding with the child is important especially when they are young, and paternity leave helps fathers to do this because they learn how to attend to various needs of the baby. It is, therefore, important for organizations to change their policies and allow men a paternity leave after child’s birth to ensure that they are involved in the child’s growth and development.

Works Cited

Bluethmann, Jacquie. Dads and paternity Leave: Why They Should Take it. MetroParent. June

            3, 2014. Web. December 7, 2015.

Jackson, Gabrielle. Force Men to Take Paternity Leave. It Will Make the World a Better Place.

            The Guardian. April 10, 2015. Web.  December 7, 2015.

Scribner, Herb. 10 Reasons Dads Should Take Paternity Leave. Deseret News. August 15, 2014.

            Web. December 7, 2015.