Dads Say They Deserve Parental Leave But Only in Theory
- First-time dads most likely to take time off, and for longer
- Mothers’ careers benefit when new fathers take parental leave
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A lot of dads say they support paid leave for fathers to care for newborn children -- but maybe they mean other fathers. The vast majority of men don’t take more than a week off, and they’re less likely to take time for a second child, according to new research from Ball State University.
Only 14 percent of fathers who take leave use more than two weeks, said Richard Petts, a father of two and a sociology professor at Ball State. He analyzed several sets of data on who uses parental leave and how. In one study, first-time dads were 77 percent more likely to take leave than a dad who had two or more children; Another study found the newbies were 44 percent more likely to use time off.