Papa’s bedtime gymnastics 🤸‍♂️ - made possible by German 🇩🇪 paternity leave! #germanyvsusa

[usa.mom.in.germany]

Papa’s bedtime gymnastics – made possible by 🇩🇪 paternity leave! 🤸‍♂️ German parents have a right to paren­tal leave until their child has reached the age of three years. Up to 12 months of the parental leave can be trans­ferred to the time between the child’s 3rd and 8th birthday. Pa­ren­tal leave can be divided bet­ween the parents or be taken by one parent. In the USA 🇺🇸, paid parental, and especially paternal, leave is not a federal mandate. How do you think this shapes the parenting experience in both cultures?

[emdeejay]

I know this is an important discussion about parental leave, and I certainly am happy for those who live in Germany that they have this option of valuable time with their newborns and little ones; the US system is brutal, if not downright cruel. But I just have to say: This video is so cute! I love that Aly’s husband is in bed with the baby in order to get her to sleep, that he is willing to do these “gymnastics” to get out of the bed, and that he has such a good time with his baby. It is all very endearing. ❤

[norad]

I'm so thankful for the privilege of parental leave in Germany. Both my kids are born in October (5 years apart), kindergarden starts in August. So I take almost 2 years of parental leave, my husband took two month.

I could not imagine going to work after a few weeks and leaving my baby in daycare.
But despite this great system for parents, some have to work after one year or even after the 8 weeks manditory leave after birth because of money.
(You get 67% of your income from the last 12 months for up to a year. Or half of this amount for two years. If you earn too little, the percentage goes up. With my first child I got 97, 5 %, which was about 500 Euros at that time)
I'm currently on parental leave, my daughter starts kindergarden this August at 22 month old. Everyone I know started working after one year.

[codeyflagg]

Meanwhile here in usa i would get a week paid if i had a kid

[markh]

Parental leave is fine. But sorry, even if you have to go to work the next day, you can take your kids to bed, read them a story, cudddle, etc. Even if you work shifts you can do this often, if in that case not always. A better example would be some afternoon activity. I raised my kids in Germany and spent a lot of time with them. I didn't take a day of parental leave, however. I just had a crappy, work- from-home job for ten years.

[moonstone]

The point you’re making is right but I don’t think anyone would mistake who’s the father and who’s the baby here. 😆

[TSimo]

Because without that important paid family leave, he would not have had those few seconds with his baby in the evening. He would be chained to his desk until midnight.

[celeste]

Not sure why this couldn’t just be a video about a dedicated dad…plenty of dads not on paternity leave still do these types of things…