How much paternity leave should dads take?

Mark Zuckerberg is a man to be envied as much as admired. It’s not just that he is one of the co-founders of social media phenomenon Facebook, or that his wealth is measured in billions. Nor is it just the intelligence and business sense. The Facebook CEO has announced that he will take a two-month paternity leave after his wife Priscilla Chen gives birth to their daughter. The 31-year-old posted: “Studies show that when working parents take time to be with their newborns, outcomes are better for the children and families.” While Facebook offer their US staff four-month paternity packages, and Richard Branson offers a year off to certain Virgin staff, things are different for the vast majority. Paternity leave is not mandatory in the US. It is not provided for under UAE labour law either, although Sharjah last year introduced a three-day paid leave. Many dads, this writer included, stock up on annual leave to make things as practical – and affordable – as possible. Father of two and Dubai DJ Mike Bufton managed to get by on a week of leave for each of his two children. But he agrees with Zuckerberg’s stance. The founder of ‘audio tonic’ says: “I would like at least two months off. It’s such an important time for both husband, wife and baby, everyone needs the support. Paternity leave is about the bonding.” While many dads will salute Zuck, KidsFIRST parent educator Therese Sequeira doesn’t think a lengthy break would be for everyone. Although the mother of three knows that paternity leave can be of great value in terms of bonding and support, she explains: “A lot of dads will have pretty much worked since high school or university, they will have gone into the workplace and a lot of who they ‘are’ is tied up in their job. Their needs are met through their job. If you turn that off, what is going to replace that? “Hopefully, if they were really keen, the parenting world would definitely do that but for some dads, that in itself is not that much fun. Especially with newborns who sleep for 20 hours a day.” Zuckerberg could be leading the way with his attitude, however, by showing that even an Alpha male in business can view fatherhood as a game changer. Aboobacker Ummer, a digital operations manager and father of one, sees a good reason for paternity leave. He explains: “Though it is the mother who delivers the child, father plays an equally important role. He is expected to be emotionally and physically available for both mother and child. So, the paternity leave also has the same importance as the maternity leave. In fact, I read that legally accepting and providing two months of paternal leave has resulted in a reduced divorce rate in Sweden!” chris.fraser@7days.ae