Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

bbc.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–60 of 617 posts

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#51

Post by toasterlovin »

hervature wrote: post #4

> Finland says it wants to "promote wellbeing and gender equality" Finally, a country that understands that one of the driving forces of gender inequality is the asymmetry of experience caused by maternal leave.

> Finally, a country that understands that one of the driving forces of gender inequality is the asymmetry of experience caused by maternal leave.

The asymmetry of experience is actually caused by child bearing, which can only be done by women. Maternal leave is downstream from that.

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#52

Post by brazilianabroad »

TheGallopedHigh wrote: post #49
brazilianabroad wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Not a freak, don't care for the infant stage. Oh that's much better. As we all know, infants don't need their parents for adequate cognitive development. /s

This comment is not substantive and does not add to the discussion in a constructive way — these types of comments are generally not welcome on this forum.

Sorry I didn't sugar-coat the obvious

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#53

Post by mrbonner »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #12

But will they force Dads to take it? As a Dad who had two kids, I would much rather pay for childcare than take paternity leave. Would someone like me be held back artificially to promote equality? EDIT: Not a freak, don't care for the infant stage. Happy to dote when they start to turn into people.

My in-laws were with us for 6 months after our little girl was born. My wife and I took over almost everything childcare related to be with her except for things like cooking meals and catch up naps during the day sometimes. Some parents do want to spend time with their children you know!

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#54

Post by nisuni »

Thanks but no thanks.

When I’ll have a baby I‘ll have to breastfeed, after having carried him for nine months, and having him exit through my private parts.

Give me my extended, non trasferrable maternal leave!

Edit: since some people are misunderstanding my point: extending the paternal leave costs money. I would rather prefer those money being spent on more maternal leave.

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#55

Post by aantix »

epaga wrote: post #29
belinder wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

14 months or weeks?

It's months. Amazing for employees and terrifying for employers. Someone I know took a new job somewhere, only to let them know a week or so after being there that his wife was about to have their child and he was going to be gone for the next 14 months. They were not going to be able to fire him without repercussions. He was not required to let them know during the interview.

How does anything get done?

If it were a three person company, one person is now gone for 14 months and legally can’t be replaced? A nightmare for the other two employees.

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#56

Post by luch »

conanbatt wrote: post #23

> while fathers are given 2.2 months until the child turns two. However, on average only one in four of them take what they are given. The current plans now talk only of parental leave. Is it conceivable that fathers actually don't want to spend that much time at home and that the Finland Government is strong-handing them into doing it? One frustration I have in this topic is that it is seldom mentioned that any pare…

this is paid leave (it's only an allowance, not usually a full salary though). Where I live it's up to a year for a father, but most of them do not take it since we are still entrenched in the "father at work/mother at home" society

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#57

Post by toomuchtodo »

mrbonner wrote: post #53
toomuchtodo wrote: post #12

But will they force Dads to take it? As a Dad who had two kids, I would much rather pay for childcare than take paternity leave. Would someone like me be held back artificially to promote equality? EDIT: Not a freak, don't care for the infant stage. Happy to dote when they start to turn into people.

My in-laws were with us for 6 months after our little girl was born. My wife and I took over almost everything childcare related to be with her except for things like cooking meals and catch up naps during the day sometimes. Some parents do want to spend time with their children you know!

Some people have no support such that you describe, and are entirely out of pocket for childcare costs because they have no family to rely on (either due to apathy, or death). If your spouse is a stay at home parent, none of these costs are tax deductible (US centric).

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#58

Post by LatteLazy »

toasterlovin wrote: post #51
hervature wrote: post #4

> Finland says it wants to "promote wellbeing and gender equality" Finally, a country that understands that one of the driving forces of gender inequality is the asymmetry of experience caused by maternal leave.

> Finally, a country that understands that one of the driving forces of gender inequality is the asymmetry of experience caused by maternal leave. The asymmetry of experience is actually caused by child bearing, which can only be done by women. Maternal leave is downstream from that.

Right now all an employer sees is time off. In Finland that means there is no difference to the employer.

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#59

Post by socialdemocrat »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #12

But will they force Dads to take it? As a Dad who had two kids, I would much rather pay for childcare than take paternity leave. Would someone like me be held back artificially to promote equality? EDIT: Not a freak, don't care for the infant stage. Happy to dote when they start to turn into people.

It is just that the days get wasted if you don't take them. So you would be stupid not to do it.

> Not a freak, don't care for the infant stage. Happy to dote when they start to turn into people.

That is kind of a selfish attitude. The early stage is a lot of work, but why should you skip the work while your wife has to do it all?

I remember back in that time. I was quite happy to go back to work the first weeks, because I found it quite exhausting with the first child. Work was super relaxing in comparison.

I think it is only fair and square that one shares the load. I had my parental leave when my kids were 8 months or so. I actually forget exactly the time. But it was quit manageable by then and while a fair amount of work it was also a rewarding experience.

> Would someone like me be held back artificially to promote equality?

What about your wife's career. Isn't she held back if she had to spend all the time taking care of the kids? Why should she not be given similar opportunities as you?

Re: Finland to give dads same parental leave as mums

#60

Post by oblio »

wincy wrote: post #40
sudoaza wrote: post #2

Germany has this and is awesome. 14 months paid leave to distribute among the two parents.

I’m curious what what happen if someone wanted to have ten kids and abused this system, and the mother didn’t work. At a gut I feel like I’d be less likely to have kids, not more, if I felt like I was burdening other people by accepting benefits like this. I have no worries as an American having as many kids as I want because I make a good salary, can afford them, and won’t take more than a weeks, maybe two weeks tim…

> I’m curious what what happen if someone wanted to have ten kids and abused this system, and the mother didn’t work.

The easy solution would be to have this set up for the desired number of children. 1-3 children: 100% of the benefits, >3: 20% or something similar.

Post reply on HN