How much time should a mother or a father be granted when starting a family; should it make a difference if the child is from a natural birth or an adoption? This is a debatable topic with seemingly no definable answer. Many organizations, work companies, and government entities have different requirements and allow different amounts of time off. Louisiana is trying to address this issue and administer to their public school teachers. What amount is enough time off?
For public teachers in Louisiana, a law has been enacted that states teachers can get up to 30 days paid leave. Unfortunately, in a profession that is dominated by women, there are still some hindrances with this amount of time.
Most daycares don’t accept a child under eight weeks or until they get their two-month vaccinations. Thus, there is a gap in the time someone receives their child and when they can get care for their child. While there is FMLA that can be used by parents around the birth or adoption of their child, an accumulation of unpaid time, that is not always a possible reality for all families. Also, if workers plan on saving up their sick time to use around the time of building their family, it normally takes years to earn back those days
Bonding is important for all children and all families, whether through birth or adoption. I would dare to say it is even more important for a family built through adoption as there are so many new aspects, sounds, and smells that the child will be learning that they didn’t experience prior to birth.
This is revealed by the real-life example of Rachel. She gave birth and six weeks later went back to teaching. She discusses how she didn’t feel like that was enough time and was having a hard time balancing her home life and work-load. She didn’t feel like she could give 100% at work or at home. Rachel stated, “it was a very trying time-I had to do lesson planning, meet with parents. It’s hard to do that with a newborn.”
Building and starting a family is a major decision for anyone. They should be preparing for a new addition to the family and gathering supplies, not having to worry about getting approved time off.
