9 Reasons Dad Should Also Take Paternity Leave!

1. Kids will learn more about compassion.
It was in July that columnist Kozo Hattori decided to try a new experiment — one that taught him to be compassionate above all else. Deseret News National reported on Hattori's experiment, citing researchers and experts who found that learning about compassion and empathy are essential to helping kids grow into more humane and giving people. By staying home with the kids and teaching them from those early days, dads can help spread that message to their children.

“Efforts to boost empathy and compassion among youths may be important, considering research that shows it has been on the wane in American youths,” the National reported.

2. Dad will be more directly involved in child care.

The Organizations for Economic Co-Operation and Development released a study in January 2013 that found dads who spent more time with their kids — at least two weeks after birth — are more likely to be involved in their care in the years to follow.

“The study noted that fathers' use of paternity and parental leave was largest when leave was well-paid and designated specifically for fathers,” CNN reported.

3. Dad gets a break from work.
While there are certain benefits kids receive when their dads take time off, fathers are gaining something from it too. John Rossheim, a career expert, wrote for monster.com that taking paternity leave is something many men will do if they full understand the benefits of it. And one of those benefits is getting the time off and being able to step away from the office for a couple of weeks.

Whether and how much working fathers continue to labor while on leave “varies per person and according to circumstances,” said Maryella Gockel, a strategy leader in accounting a Ernst & Young. “If you're in the middle of a big (business) deal, the transition to leave may take longer.”

4. Mom gets a break from child-rearing.
Wahm.com — a work-at-home mothers information website — expressed one important part of dads taking paternity leave. It offers moms a break from always doing the child-rearing. Stresses and complications that a mother experiences in the early days of raising a child can be relieved by the dad stepping into that role, wahm.com noted.

“If the father were able to get paternity leave, it would take a huge burden off your shoulders,” reads wahm.com. “You would still be able to help in the raising of your child, but the father would be there to help change diapers, feed the baby and make sure they are down for another nap. This would enable you to focus a little longer on your work and get some projects out of the way (or make a business call without worrying about being interrupted).”

5. It will change the perception of dads.
Do dads get a bad rep? Critics have said in the past that dads aren't as caring of their kids, but that changes when they take paternity leave, Time magazine reported. So paternity leave will actually offer men a chance to learn from feminism, relieving dads from having to stick to the stereotypes that culture has often associated them with — being uncaring and not as dedicated to kids as the mother, Time reported.

“Paternity leave is a practical lesson in why men should be feminists, not just because it's right and fair but because feminism — in its simplest sense of treating people equally and not constraining them with artificial gender roles — benefits men too,” wrote James Poniewozik for Time.

6. Dad gets an enriching experience.
Craig Melvin wrote for MSNBC about his experience as a dad who took paternity leave. He explained that he was lucky to get the benefits of paternity leave from his employer, and he was even more blessed to learn what it's like to be a father from the get-go.

Melvin noted that dads sometimes have to play catch up with learning about their kids and their habits, attitudes and patterns. But with paternity leave, he was quick to understand what his child would be like.

“Having experienced it first-hand, I would argue that a modest investment that encourages fathers to start off on the right foot is a more than worthwhile. We all pick up the tab down the road when children whose fathers weren't there start growing up,” Melvin wrote

 
source: nairaland.com