Reply to Does SAHM make a difference during infant years?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]You cannot argue for paid family leave for a year and in the same breath say « any loving caregiver » is just as good. [/quote]

Why not? The point is to give women choices, and to create the kind of world in which everyone — not just the elite — can realize their full potential. I think for many women, what they want is flexibility and options to find what works best for themselves and for their families. The current situation is very rigid and only values a certain linear productivity.[/quote]

This, plus let’s highlight the “loving caregiver” part. It’s not like they hand out terrific nannies or spots in great daycares when you have a baby. One of the main goals of mandatory paid leave is to give options to lower income families who may not have access to a “living caregiver” in that first year.

If you can afford and have access to fantastic childcare, then you really do have a choice between working and staying home, and can know that your child will get great care from a living caregiver either way.

But if you are lower income, this choice is not presented to you. Instead, you may only be given one choice: returning to work after a minimal maternity leave and putting your child in a daycare you don’t feel great about. Or leaving your child with a family member you don’t feel great about. Mandatory paid leave would allow that parent to actually choose with sacrificing her family’s financial stability.

(And mandatory paid leave should actually be coupled with subsidized childcare like they have in other countries because then women could actually choose.)[/quote]

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