Childcare should not only be a woman’s job
New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern tweeted recently that she and her partner Clarke Grayford will “join the many parents who wear two hats. I’ll be PM & a mum while Clarke will be ‘first man of fishing’ & stay at home dad”. The idea that a head of state is going to experience what countless women in the free (and unfree) world go through is not new.
Benazir Bhutto, once disparagingly referred to as the ‘permanently pregnant prime minister’ -- the acronym dovetailed neatly to the party she headed -- had three children in and out of office. Her second child was born while she was Pakistan’s prime minister.
Perhaps to prove that she was asking for no special concessions for being a woman, Bhutto delivered that child by caesarean section and returned to work the next day.
Back then, women with jobs took it on the chin and carried on.
Things have changed, mercifully.
A new generation of women sees no conflict between giving birth, becoming mothers and just getting on with the job.
And yet, this generation of marvellous multi-taskers doesn’t have it easy.
All over the world, the responsibility of bringing up children lies disproportionately with women. A 2015 report by Mckinsey Global Institute found that 75% of unpaid care work – cooking, cleaning, washing, caring for children and the elderly – is done by women. In India, the burden is much heavier. One study estimates that on average, women spend over 351 minutes a day on unpaid care work. Another study says we are the secondworst country when it comes to men contributing to housework. (Relax Indian men: Japan is the worst.)
Exacerbating the problem is workplace culture – though this is slowly changing too – that takes pride in employees being available 24/7. If you talk to mums in jobs, most will tell you that the only meaningful time they spend with their kids is between 6 and 8 pm. If you’re going to push employees to routinely put in 14-hour days, you’re going to end up with a lot of stressed out mothers (hopefully some fathers too) who will at some point wonder if it’s worth it and who will at that point quit, or be tempted to.
By increasing maternity leave to six months, the government is reinforcing a stereotype: Childcare is a woman’s job.
But being a parent goes beyond maternity leave: A workplace culture that can adjust for exams, illnesses and the odd sports day.
Working mums need dads who chip in with PTAS and special projects and, yes, it would help if they made the lunch dabbas or bought groceries or just did the damn laundry.
Jacinda Arden will take six weeks off after she gives birth. When she goes back to the office it will be with the knowledge that her partner, a TV presenter with his own career, is going to be the stay at home dad. Every woman should be that lucky. Today’s young generation has changed the way we use mobile phones. It has become more of a toy for them that they can use at any time. Living in the 21st century and the technology age, we must be aware of what our children are watching on the smartphones, as excessive usage of mobile phones is harmful for them.
We should also restrict the use of mobile phones by children, providing them the time limit for every activity they can do daily. With this they will learn the importance of time and discipline. Moreover, high radiation is also harmful for children. All of us are aware of the consequences of game Blue Whale invented by a Russian lady named Ilya Sidorov. Around 130 children worldwide (and five in India) were believed to have committed suicide after playing this game.
They didn’t get to know when they entered this deadly game and their mind got fixated on reaching the highest level. We need to keep a strict vigil on our children and monitor what they are watching on their mobile phones. This will prevent them from any danger and teach them the important lessons of life. It will help them differentiate between the real and the fake.