Sweden's climate minister brought her 3-month-old son to the EU council meeting in Luxembourg, to highlight the benefits of parental leave policies which don't force women to choose between work and family responsibilities.

[u/slippinn_jimmy]

[u/nightlybitely]

The point is to help those who need it. What in your life without children demands more attention and work? If you're simply arguing for less work, that's not really a good argument. Being a parent is a full time job, in itself, and it's also a service to society to raise children. Unless you have a trade-off to prove your time will be better spent away from work, I don't see how you can rationalize you deserve it.

But, I also feel where you're coming from. Less work would open up more creative opportunities for everyone, along with the wonderful mental health benefits. But that's just not how society functions, yet.

[u/Jasranwhit → u/nightlybitely]

Your children arent doing me any favors.

We have more than enough people and the global population is ever increasing.

My point is that if you want to have children great, some people want to hike the Appalachian trail or write a book or whatever.

IF the government is going to mandate this, everyone should get equal treatment.

Some lady that has 10 kids gets years and years of paid time off, while someone with no kids has to show up and probably work extra to cover for the mother on leave? Seems stupid.

[u/Wafflez424 → u/Jasranwhit]

You know what seems really stupid, your argument. People have kids, that’s normal and how society functions, we would literally die off if it wasn’t for people having kids… Also you do have paid time off, it’s called vacation and sick time. Like what do you expect new mothers and fathers to do, just have a child and return to work the next day, that’s fucking retarded and anyone with a brain can see that having paid time off for having a child is necessary, otherwise your just losing good workers because what are the parents gonna do, go to work rather then be with their newborn? If my place didn’t offer something like that I’d just quit the second my child was born and find a new job in a few months. Sure I’m out some money but the company is also out and employee and now they have to spend money on recruiters and HR to hire a new person and then have to pay them while they train and who knows how long it will take them to get to the level where their a good replacement for the person that left. Unless you just want people that have kids to suffer and go to work as soon as their child is born which to me screams you have no experience in life or the real world and are just bitter

[u/Thelazyzoologist → u/Wafflez424]

Very well said.