NYC Divorce Lawyer Nearby – Paternity Leave and Why it’s Important
Despite the progressive times and feminist movement, gender norms still play a large role in our society. This is especially the case in Family Court when it comes to custody determinations. The leading factors in Custody cases are the best interest for the children, and a determination of who has been the primary caretaker. Traditionally, the primary caretaker has been the mother, especially for children of young ages. This can be attributed to biological needs such as a breastfeeding mother, but can also stem from workplace inequality. I’m Val Kleyman, a NYC divorce lawyer nearby, and I want to give you some information about paternity leave.
What is meant by that is, women still do a majority of child caretaking of children at young ages which causes missed days and less responsibility at work if they are always having to take paid time off, further leading to this inequality. A proposed solution for this would be to have fathers participate in early-on child caretaking through paternity leaves. A newborn child bonding with a father is just as important as bonding with the mother. Additionally, studies have shown that a father participating in the early stages of child rearing help promote equal caretaking as the child gets older.
In my practice, I meet and talk to allot of people struggling in their marriages. Most issues are relate to custody and care of children. NYC divorce lawyer nearby have to untangle these broken marriages, and it’s especially difficult when young children are involved. Out of 13.7 million parents who were serving the primary custodial parent role in 2013, only one out of every six were men. The primary caretaker standard looks to see what parent has been most responsible for meeting the child’s needs, including feeding, bathing, playing, waking and putting to bed, making doctor’s appointments, arranging child care, and so on.
Another factor that is common across courts is to look at the parent-child bond, which essentially reflects typical parenting roles when children are young. Since a mother has historically been the one to bond with child most when they are young, and are more likely to take time off of work, young children tend to go to moms first for basic daily needs and emotional support. If the father is involved with these roles from an early age, it helps promote joint custody later on.
So, take your paternity leave! Don’t let the brut of child care fall on one partner as your children get older, as this could severely hinder your chance at joint custody if you and your partner decide to split up.
Val Kleyman is the founding partner of the Kleyman Law Firm, and a NYC divorce lawyer nearby. He is handling divorce and family law matters and is rated as one of the top family attorneys in NYC. For more info go to https://nyc-divorcelawyer.com, email: [email protected] or call 212-401-1977.
