Bottom 4
The scientist and I caught the end of this 20/20 segment on Friday. It questions why women in America do not get more maternity leave, and why child care costs so much (upwards of $10,000 per year per child).
For example, of 168 countries surveyed in the world, only four offer no national maternity-leave program: Lesotho, Swaziland, Papua New Guinea, and the United States of America.
Not getting more time off could possibly make things a little difficult for us this coming May. I’ll probably end up working a 4 day week, but that means we have a kid in day care for 10 hours. Is that good for a two month old? Hell, why don’t I get paternity leave! We’re both going to probably use up a sizable chunk, if not all, of our vacation time. Anyway, it’s an interesting story (though I don’t think there is enough outrage… it seems like tired acceptance) and you can watch it if you don’t feel like reading.
Yeah daycare is damn expensive. Luckily Jen’s mom does it for a living, and will charge us very little for it.
As for maternity leave, Jen gets 2 months with lower pay. I could take a couple months if I wanted, but without pay, so that’s not going to happen. I’ll probably just take a week, maybe a bit longer.
Comment by xumbi — Monday, November 13, 2006 @ 5:52 pm
You do get paternity leave through the University.. it is the same as maternity leave for women (it is illegal for them to discriminate). Most likely you will need to use your short-term disability, or whatever the univeristy has women use for maternity leave (and still get paid for something). Erica or Tim W. might have some pointers for you as well.
I have begun to organize my flex benefits here in GA, and GA State offers individuals to use their short-term disability for maternity/paternity leave, and still get paid 80% of their salary. At least, I believe that is the percentage that the lady said. It MAY be the same in NH. I definitely recommend you talking with HR, they can help you plan it out. But no matter what, I know you can get paternity leave… it is just a question as to how to run it and still getting something in the form of a paycheck.
Lastly, if you have not looked into daycares yet, I DO recommend the CSDC at the university (they take infants). You should be able to tour the facility now and get on a waiting list (you’ll need it). It will be a good location for you as it is right on campus. And they have a sliding scale for “tuition.”
Comment by KP — Monday, November 13, 2006 @ 8:13 pm
I know that I can use 5 sick days to take time off after the birth, but I don’t think I can take anytime off with partial pay, especially if the scientist has to go down to partial pay.
Also, I was thinking of looking into the CSDC. It’s close to where I work (and doesn’t force me to go on campus, they can take payroll deductions), but it is good to have a strong recommendation for the place, though it’ll still cost around $200 per week to pay for it. I think my mom’s retiring soon…
Comment by Z.Monkey — Tuesday, November 14, 2006 @ 10:57 am