Claire wrote a blog entry about Paid Parental Leave in America that really got me thinking. I agree that parental leave is necessary if we want to advance our nation. Having a baby or adopting a child are both huge lifechangers. I don't understand how we can expect new parents, especially mothers, to function at any job. After carrying an entire person inside of you for nine months and then (more than likely painfully giving birth, how can we not see some sort of (financial) assistance is necessary. I especially don't understand how we can expect new mothers to leave their newborns at home. But it seems without any sort parental leave, many mothers cannot afford not to.
New fathers are in need of parental leave as well. Raising a child is a full-time job and then some, without pay or benefits! No parental leave in America has mothers stuck at home taking care of the child and fathers overworked and stressed as well. The norm seems to be that women will leave their job after or shortly before having their child; while men will log in extra hours or find second jobs to cover the loss of income. Of course it doesn't stop there, fathers are expected to care for the child as well. The mother has worked all day long, probably without any sort of break and will more than likely need the father to watch over the child so she can grab even 30 minutes of rest.
With all the progress we have made, it seems a shame that we have not acknowledged the fact that new parents need help (and money) to not only survive, but to also take care of their children. It is unfair that women lose income and sometimes their jobs simply because they have a child and men are expected to cover the lost income somehow and still take on parenting duties. If anything women should be given some kind of paid maternity leave and job security, that would be one step closer to becoming the utopian nation many envision America to be.
