Draft Letter to The Editor - July 2019
Letter to the Editor, The Gleaner July 2019
Parenting Partners Caribbean (PPC) commends the foresight of FLOW, and other companies who have instituted paternity leave policies. Our members were delighted to hear of FLOW’s progressive policy which as of June 1st this year included 8 weeks of paternity leave in its package of staff benefits, a benefit also extended now to adoptive and foster parents. We join with other organisations and advocates of paternity leave in commending FLOW on this decision. Published responses of support have underscored positive aspects of this policy move-- such as worker satisfaction and productivity, promotion of work-life balance, strengthened family life, and – of course—the psychological and emotional benefits to the young child of father involvement.
However, PPC also urges the Jamaican government (and other governments in the Caribbean region) to provide legislative “backative” to these progressive companies. The future health and productivity of our region’s families can only benefit from such encouraging support for the lives of its youngest citizens.
(PPC) is a Jamaica-based organisation, dedicated to supporting positive parenting practices via training, advocacy and research since 1991. Our organisation’s members have been involved over many years in research and training activities throughout the wider Caribbean ,and have always emphasised the importance of fathers’ early bonding with their newborns, and of sharing child-rearing tasks with their partners. Fathers’ discussion groups (within research activities) have repeatedly confirmed how deeply men feel about their relationships with their children—sometimes expressing pain and sadness when the children are largely absent from their lives, and sometimes great joy at their interaction in shared adventures with their children. Such men’s discussions are often equally candid about how the prevailing macho culture (perpetrated by both men and women) does not encourage men’s nurturing instincts and behaviour, often leaving little more than the traditional “breadwinner” role. When the “bread” is perceived as too little, they may feel shame, and sometimes anger, if partners reduce or deny visits with their children as a result.
Jamaican researchers[1] interviewed over 3400 fathers just after the birth of their children in 2011, and found almost 90% of them happy about this development; almost 100% believed that fathers should be just as involved with their children as mothers. While 65% of them were living with their wives or partners at that time, less than half of the fathers interviewed were still living with their children when they reached age four.
Would paternity leave for these fathers have produced any different result? Such benefits were not available in Jamaica in 2011, so we cannot answer thiswith any certainty. However, a paternity leave policy gives a working father the opportunity to bond closely with his new child during the critical early period of the child’s life.. We know that a father who owns, nurtures and values a new son or daughter during the child’s earliest days and months of life will be more likely to continue his investment in that child—not only financially but emotionally. We can also surmise that a father who understands the importance of his investment in the child’s development will not be so hasty to produce other children until ready to make a similar investment.
We commend those fathers who—often with serious challenges—continue to commit not only “bread” but themselves to their children. Those who do—and those partners who encourage and celebrate this commitment—will see the long-term benefits for their children’s wholesome development emerge over time.
PPC also notes that mothers, too, often need guidance and encouragement to provide environments for their children that are positive for their wholesome development. Hunting a new baby-father with more financial resources may not in the end be the best solution for the child or for the parents’ relationship. Encouraging the children’s father(s) to be part of these environments, whether the fathers live with their children or visit regularly, can produce positive outcomes not only for the child but for the parents’ relationship as well.
PPC has no doubt that developing policy in this area may be quite challenging, with many threads to be considered, but it can be done . Let the discussion begin!
[1]Samms-Vaughan, M. et al JAKids Cohort Study 2011 – 2018 Conference Report
Parenting Partners Caribbean (PPC) commends the foresight of FLOW, and other companies who have instituted paternity leave policies. Our members were delighted to hear of FLOW’s progressive policy which as of June 1st this year included 8 weeks of paternity leave in its package of staff benefits, a benefit also extended now to adoptive and foster parents. We join with other organisations and advocates of paternity leave in commending FLOW on this decision. Published responses of support have underscored positive aspects of this policy move-- such as worker satisfaction and productivity, promotion of work-life balance, strengthened family life, and – of course—the psychological and emotional benefits to the young child of father involvement.
However, PPC also urges the Jamaican government (and other governments in the Caribbean region) to provide legislative “backative” to these progressive companies. The future health and productivity of our region’s families can only benefit from such encouraging support for the lives of its youngest citizens.
(PPC) is a Jamaica-based organisation, dedicated to supporting positive parenting practices via training, advocacy and research since 1991. Our organisation’s members have been involved over many years in research and training activities throughout the wider Caribbean ,and have always emphasised the importance of fathers’ early bonding with their newborns, and of sharing child-rearing tasks with their partners. Fathers’ discussion groups (within research activities) have repeatedly confirmed how deeply men feel about their relationships with their children—sometimes expressing pain and sadness when the children are largely absent from their lives, and sometimes great joy at their interaction in shared adventures with their children. Such men’s discussions are often equally candid about how the prevailing macho culture (perpetrated by both men and women) does not encourage men’s nurturing instincts and behaviour, often leaving little more than the traditional “breadwinner” role. When the “bread” is perceived as too little, they may feel shame, and sometimes anger, if partners reduce or deny visits with their children as a result.
Jamaican researchers[1] interviewed over 3400 fathers just after the birth of their children in 2011, and found almost 90% of them happy about this development; almost 100% believed that fathers should be just as involved with their children as mothers. While 65% of them were living with their wives or partners at that time, less than half of the fathers interviewed were still living with their children when they reached age four.
Would paternity leave for these fathers have produced any different result? Such benefits were not available in Jamaica in 2011, so we cannot answer thiswith any certainty. However, a paternity leave policy gives a working father the opportunity to bond closely with his new child during the critical early period of the child’s life.. We know that a father who owns, nurtures and values a new son or daughter during the child’s earliest days and months of life will be more likely to continue his investment in that child—not only financially but emotionally. We can also surmise that a father who understands the importance of his investment in the child’s development will not be so hasty to produce other children until ready to make a similar investment.
We commend those fathers who—often with serious challenges—continue to commit not only “bread” but themselves to their children. Those who do—and those partners who encourage and celebrate this commitment—will see the long-term benefits for their children’s wholesome development emerge over time.
PPC also notes that mothers, too, often need guidance and encouragement to provide environments for their children that are positive for their wholesome development. Hunting a new baby-father with more financial resources may not in the end be the best solution for the child or for the parents’ relationship. Encouraging the children’s father(s) to be part of these environments, whether the fathers live with their children or visit regularly, can produce positive outcomes not only for the child but for the parents’ relationship as well.
PPC has no doubt that developing policy in this area may be quite challenging, with many threads to be considered, but it can be done . Let the discussion begin!
[1]Samms-Vaughan, M. et al JAKids Cohort Study 2011 – 2018 Conference Report