Fatherhood | Kids | Current Affairs
If you are a new dad, or are about to be a new dad, even if it is your fifth kid, plan to take time off work if you aren’t a stay-at-home-dad. Having a kid, even if you already have one, is a big adjustment. It will change your life in ways you can only imagine. You and your family need time to adjust. [Read more…]
I am better at loading the dishwasher than my wife. I can fit more stuff in and I put specific dishes in specific places in order to maximize the space and fit as much in there as possible. I admit here and now that I often partially unload it at night so that I can load it how I want to do it. This works out since I am the primary dishwasher loader. I am also better at loading cars full of our crap and I am better at plunging the toilet, which I have to do far more frequently than I would like thanks to what is apparently an inferior low-flow toilet. Laura can also do these things. She might not fit a much stuff into cars and dishwashers, but the dishes might be cleaner and fewer things will be crushed. The same is true with our parenting styles. [Read more…]
Today is the end, the last day, my final chance. I did not do it all. I have not achieved everything I hoped to do. I tried. I had specific goals that I wanted to accomplish during my time, but I had more goals than time and there were forces that conspired against me. [Read more…]
In Canada we parents have the benefit of maternity and parental leaves. Our jobs are protected by law while we are on leave and we can collect income through Employment Insurance during our leaves. A mother who has given birth can use maternity leave and parental leave for a total of 52 weeks. Fathers and other parents, including adoptive can take up to 35 weeks of parental leave. These leaves are shared and any parental leave taken by one parent is deducted from the total of the other parent so that the time take by both parents combined cannot exceed one year.
I have some issues with how this is structured, but I greatly appreciate that it exists. Some organizations will top-up the payments provided by Employment Insurance so that one’s income remains relatively close to full pay during the leave period. Many, such as my current employer, do not provide a top-up. [Read more…]