Matt Lauer and paternity leave
On Wednesday morning, I watched the Today Show and saw Matt Lauer's on-air colleagues congratulating him on the birth of his new son, the couple's third child. Matt accepted the congratulations but downplayed it at the same time. I watched and wondered, "Why isn't he with his wife?"
I would love a man's perspective on this but from a women's point of view, I think paternity leave should be more than just a few hours off. (Matt took off Tuesday morning when his wife gave birth at 9:37 a.m.) But what kind of message does it send that this very public father is right back in his co-anchor chair less than 24-hours after his wife gave birth? I'm sure on Matt's $13 million annual salary, the couple has plenty of help at home. But there's nothing like a spouse for emotional support. Are men embarrassed to take paternity leave? Tell me your thoughts.
posted by Cindy Goodman at 10:57 AM
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3 Comments:
I don't know how I would have survived without my husband around after I had my baby last spring! He took a full week off of work, and after that worked from home. I absolutely believe fathers should have (and take) paternity leave when their babies are born. There's just no substitute for a husband/daddy during that crucial time.
Susan @ Working Moms Against Guilt
I have to say that I am disgusted at Matt's “could care less” kind of attitude. I mean really, what better time or reason to take at least a week off. I don’t know if men are embarrassed to take paternity leave or if they are pressured by a male-dominated workforce, but in my opinion real men do recognize the importance of some time off after the birth of their children.
My wife is due in this month and I'm planning a to stay home 2 weeks from the day they both get home. My employer did not have any objections with me taking my vacation time, but I did sense a struggle on their part to understand what I will be doing at home for 2 weeks. Some even went as far as telling me that I would be more of a hindrance and that mothers need to be home alone with their child at the beginning – “father’s can’t breast feed”. We can’t breast feed, but we offer much more than that. Needless to say, I’m still taking the time off. I can only hope that when my daughter has her first child, her husband can take the same (if not more) time off without it being such a shock to others. Unfortunately, Matt did not help my cause.
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