How much time should a woman take off work to raise children?
In Canada, we may pride ourselves on our generous parental benefits, but even the most family-friendly employer will secretly groan when notified about an employee’s pregnancy, warns careers columnist Leah Eichler.
When you're preparing to add a new member to your family, work is often the last of your worries. But little mistakes and oversights can turn that parental leave into a big mess – which generally lands at the mother’s feet.
Taking a truncated leave can cause more problems than it solves, for instance, including exacerbating health risks for new moms.
But some employers still clearly view mat leaves as being on par with taking a year off to learn skydiving. And then there's the actual cost of repeatedly taking time off to raise kids.
So, how much time should a woman take off work to raise children? And at what point does that time away negatively affect her career aspirations?
*Bing: What are the rules on maternity benefits?
For mothers trying to navigate their back-to-work plan, overcoming perceptions about loyalty and commitment are just some of the obstacles, says Beatrix Dart, executive director of the Rotman Initiative for Women in Business, a back-to-work program designed for those who have been out of the work force for several years and want to rebuild their careers.
Dart reveals that the demand for this sort of counselling is so great that they could have filled the program four times over.
Have you made this transition? Did your employer help or hinder? Would you do it the same way again?
By Gordon Powers, MSN Money
Posted by: New Mom | Nov 29, 2021 2:46:07 PM
@ Gave up my career: No, I'm not asking why women should have to give up their career at all. If I financially had the choice to give up my career, I would do it in a heart beat. I believe Dana has it exactly right. My family of 3 can't survive off my husbands sole income. It's not about having the best of the best either. We just can't afford to pay every bill on one income. I don't want to live to work, just simply I have to work to live. My family is by far whats more important.
Posted by: Gave up my career | Dec 1, 2021 8:35:30 AM
To New Mom: Where do you live? (My guess is you live in an expensive city.)
I wish I could take a look at all your bills and see where the money is going, to help you out and show you where to cut back.
We live in a small home (the cheapest in our area.) We have a small car (for 4 ppl) that doesn't guzzle gas. We have basic cable only and we don't have all the "toys" for around the house. (The kids don't know how to use a cell phone, like their friends.) We only take one trip a year and we only do the movie theatre at Christmas. I hope that helps you out. I think you may just not know where to cut back in your bills. Good Luck.
Posted by: Dana | Dec 1, 2021 1:12:50 PM
In response to "To Dana": I don't believe it's the best idea to make assumptions about people on blogs. (Although it happens all the time - especially on this particular site). You have assumed how much I make, that I have a husband, and also the number of kids I may have. The truth is, you know none of these things about me. So please tell me your opinion without making personal attacks on me.
If one parent in the family has a professional and secure job, then yes, absolutely a small family can live on one income. But not everyone's life or situation fits into that tiny little box. There are so many other variables that can cause financial strain on a family, that requires to parents to work.
Also, the question in debate is NOT whether women should stay home and raise kids or work. The question is that WHEN they return to work, should their position be intact.
Posted by: To Dana: | Dec 2, 2021 10:06:31 AM
Noone is making assumptions here. If you don't live in a "tiny little box," as you put it, then yes, you will need 2 people working in the family and therefore will not have time for children and therefore shouldn't have any, in my opinion and this blog is mute. Dana, we are all entitled to our own opinions. You and I disagree. Lastly, to answer the "when" question for you, you shouldn't return to work after having children. My opionion.
Posted by: New Mom | Dec 2, 2021 3:12:15 PM
@ gave up my career: I live in Whitby Ontario, small town east of Toronto. I live in a small home - under 1300 sq.ft. We have 2 cars (one that is paid for in full) and we don't even have cable. All my sons toys have been gifts from showers and his bday. We have NEVER gone on a trip anywhere. There is no cut backs to be made unfortunately. Thank you for the kind wishes though. :)
@ Dana: Yes, this did get off topic, didn't it? The debate is about if women should say home to raise their kids (even though in my opinion, I believe they should - but that is very hard to do this day in age). I would LOVE to be able to afford it, its just simply not possible. I'm lucky that my mother has retired, so my son is being cared for by his grandma when I do eventually go back to work. The question was, should the position be intact - the answer is yes. Even the Government believes it, or there wouldn't be "rules" (even though they are broken all the time like in my situation). Obviously things in a company will change over a year, but you shouldn't lose your job just cause you have a baby.
@To Dana: Just because you have 2 people working doesn't mean you won't have time for your children. The key is to work then give all your free time to your children to make time for them. When I had my son, I gave up all my "free time" for him. To have children is to be selfless. That's just my opinion. I'm only working to provide for my family - work to live, not live to work.
Posted by: From An Employer | Jan 19, 2022 3:14:49 PM
As an employer of a small company of about 30 employees, having a small admin staff to work from, and after having an employee who had worked for me for just over 1 year announce to me that she would be taking a mat leave in 8 months time, although the advance notice was nice from this unwed 27 year old girl, it ended up being really hard to endure the training of multiple admin replacement staff who didn’t seem to have a work ethic and temps when these hires wouldn’t show up and the absences from the complications and discomfort and medical appointments the mat leave girl was going through… this period of running my company was THE most stressful I have ever endured… and never once did the mat leave girl consider how her decision was affecting the company and everyone else around her… while on mat leave she came to collect her benefits money and inquire about reimbursement for various things while she would bring her baby in to talk to the clerical staff on my staff’s company time… without a clue to the affect she had on us… this is the part where labour relations has made the small business owner have to really bite it. Because she knew we had to hold her job for her and she knew she was eligible to maintain every benefit as if she was still working as an expectation or entitlement, not as a privilege… I have 3 children myself and my husband and I built our company at home while the children were young and I had some help from family. I’ve structured my job so that I can be absent to look after my children when needed to attend their school or athletic activities which offer a nice balance between work and family… I’m lucky I’m in a position to do that… having seen both sides of the situation, I would never hire another woman in child bearing years as their focus is strictly on themselves which for them is fine, but for a business it’s downright difficult and I would never want to go through it again… I also think it is completely unfair that the employees who work day in day out for 5 years earn their increase to a 3 week vacation, but a mat leave can take a year to raise their child and maintain all these benefits as if they’ve never left, not only is that completely unfair to the ones who actually put in their time at work, the employer has to compensate once again and I think that law needs to change. You get benefits when you work. If you take time off and have a child, great… your benefits shouldn’t fall on the shoulders of your employer, your benefit should be the fact that you’ve brought a child into this world and that is a wonderful thing, that’s your benefit…