Cultural taboos at times come in the way

Ijust had three days off as paternity leave, so I took a couple of weeks off from my annual leave quota when my twins were born, three years ago.

My perspective on paternity leave is that it is definitely good if companies offer it to employees.

Honestly, some men might use it as just time off, but I feel that some fathers would definitely take advantage of this time to bond with their newborn.

My family was not around when my twins were born because everyone was busy in their own lives, and even though we had a nanny, with twins, we definitely needed an extra pair of hands. But not everyone can afford a nanny, neither does everyone prefer leaving it all to a nanny. So, companies should be giving paternity leaves to everyone.

They say that the child doesn’t remember these initial months, but at least the father gets to bond with the child and appreciate how the mum manages everything.

My wife is Romanian, and at her workplace, she gets a year off as maternity leave, which is great, especially when you consider the demands of breastfeeding.

Unfortunately, there are some cultures that don’t push fathers to be involved with child care, but if, God forbid, your wife or nanny is incapacitated, how will you manage if you can’t take care of your own child?

If I could have, I would have preferred to spend even more time with my boys, especially in the early months after they were born. Rashid Bin Hendi Product sales manager at a bank in Abu Dhabi