How fab is this?

[SecretSquirrel193]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1314283/Licia-Ronzulli-brings-baby-EU-Parliament.html

Oops, pressed post too soon. Meant to say isn't this fab. The baby looks so happy and no-one is bothered. Wouldn't happen here though :(

I was going to post the same thread with exactly the same comment SecretSquirrel

Totally fab.

Looking forward to seeing a man at work with a baby in a sling next ...

I don't want to dampen everyone's enthusiasm but if she is a member of Berlusconi's party it's highly unlikely she will ever be voting to extend the same sort of rights to her female voters back in Italy.

It's good that she could take the baby in with her, but I do worry about the pressure that puts on other mothers who don't feel up to running around doing important jobs when they have small babies.

hmmmm she should be at home resting/enjoying time with her baby.work should be able to wait.

[shallow]

sharbie I agree - haven't we battled in this country to have decent maternity provision so that women can take time to rest after birth and bond with their babies rather than be rushing back into the workplace?

But if she wants to do it then she should be allowed to.

i wish i could have taken my baby to work with me istead of laeving him in a nursery all day

i didnt have the luxury of being able to take 12mths maternity i couldnt survive on SMP so had to go back to work after 10 weeks

yes, there is that lalalonglegs - very good point and hoping everyone would skip over nepotism bit as well ...

tis the very fact that she is out there and doing her stuff with baby in tow that I find admirable

And I absolutely agree with the other posters too who feel women should be able to rest and bond with baby at home without returning to work so soon if they want that.

I can assure you that maternity provision in the EP is fairly generous so I'm assuming she have opted to attend the debate with her baby and it's having the choice that matters ...

has opted

Great!!

OK - well voice of dissent but I really don't think babies should be welcomed in the workplace. It really isn't the place for them. There is a lady at work who habitually brings her children to work when she can't get childcare (normal offce job) and it's hell when they're here. No one gets anything done.

Agree that often it is definitely NOT appropriate (particularly for older dc). Dh and I run our own business so we are very attuned to the realities but there ARE quite a few occasions when it IS possible to welcome dc and babies in to the office and - as long as it is done sensitively and sensibly - by creating that sort of atmosphere everyone benefits and we find that productivity increases overall as a result.

In this instance both parties look fairly content with the situation as do her colleagues. This is sheer speculation on my part though I admit (baby could have easily have been bawling 3 mins later)! I just thought it was wonderful picture of a professional woman doing her job, placing her vote, and bonding with her baby at the same time.

It's lovely to see but it is impractical for the vast majority of jobs; even unsafe in some jobs.

Agree Belgo but where it is practical and possible, why not? Far preferable to pumping milk in office lavatories ...

Meant to add, agree that it wouldn't work for a lot of manual jobs however

Only works when the baby is sleeping, I imagine if the baby was irritated (by that I mean crying)it could be a big distraction to her and others working with/around her.

It's a very warming sight but I get the impression many mothers with young babies prefer to rest at home rather than be lumbered with piles of documents.

Isn't she only going in to vote though? I.e. not all day every day.

I think employers would save themselves a lot of time and money if they provided childcare on the premises where possible, or allowed children (babies and quiet older children with homework etc) into work.

Obviously not in a slaughterhouse/knife-throwing school belgo :o

But would that be a good thing EAM, if workplaces supplied childcare so that women (and men) can go straight back to work as soon as possible. I can see this now:

"Why are you still at home we provide childcare back to work"

Well unless they change the law on parental leave then surely companies won't be able to put (threatening) pressure on new parents?

But more importantly, you could worry about that argument every time something is done to make life better for working parents. To me it's advantageous to have parents who don't have to cart their small children across town, don't have to be worrying about if they're ok etc because they can just pop in at lunchtime or a coffee break and say hi or give them a cuddle. The real concrete advantages (both in convenience and emotionally) would be felt by the parents and their children, and the economic benefits would be felt by the company. Maybe I just happen to have worked with a lot of women who would like to work more hours (e.g. full time) or come back to work earlier but are not willing to leave their babies/children miles away.

I would be strongly for women having the choice to bring small babies to work with them (if appropriate/safe) or on site childcare as an option. Emphasis on choice though. It definitely wouldn't suit everyone.

I too would have returned to work earlier if I didn't have to leave DS. Though now I have done more research into childminders I think I'd be happy to use a childminder from an earlier age, say six months? Still a bit of a pain for breastfeeding though.

They say that having little babies in slings where they can observe adult interaction is very good for them, probably better than a busy baby group or a singing group for a baby who can't even talk yet. Not that these things don't have their advantages though.

They say women have a choice, but it is incredibly difficult to combine working effectively and being able to care for your child 100% in the way you want to. Any form of childcare is going to involve compromise.

Yes breastfeeding as well. Also if the kids are grouchy or a bit under the weather, parents could take their DC in and pop in later, to check they're still ok, whereas otherwise they might have taken to day off "just in case".