FATHER TIME
‘Dads are more than a mother’s help. They matter in their own right’
British dads are right to protest poor paternity leave. But to focus purely on those early days risks neglecting the vital importance of engaged fathers to kids of all ages. In fact, argues Richard Reeves, it’s those teenage years when dads really come into their own
Dads really step up their game when their kids are in later childhood
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The jokes write themselves. If dads go on strike, will anyone notice? Isn’t a dad’s strike just another name for a golfing weekend? And so on. But the recent ‘Dad Strike’ belies stereotypes. With humour and passion, fathers descended on parliament last June to make their case: dads deserve time off with their children, just as much as mums do.
In the UK, statutory paternity leave allows most new fathers up to two weeks off work at £187.18 a week or 90% of their average earnings – whichever is lower. Self-employed dads get nothing. This makes the UK’s policy among the least generous in Europe.