To think that women without children should be able to take time off work too?

[Playfair]

Firstly I will say that I am 100% supportive of good maternity leave (and paternity / shared), and understand the importance of supporting women to maintain a career, care for children or whatever else they wish.

I also acknowledge that maintaining birth rates is critical for society. And that maternity leave is spent doing work in raising a child.

Reflecting on my company's good maternity policy (about 6 months paid) and also some other institutions that have announced paid time off for those undergoing fertility treatment, it leaves me wondering about those of us without children (by choice or otherwise).

I'm in my thirties and will never have children. I'd love to have a small amount of paid time off (in addition to usual annual leave) to do some lengthy travel for example. I can't see why we can't have access to something similar if you haven't used any maternity benefit by a certain point.

There would obviously be benefits for society & business from developing new skills, morale etc. As well as women in work contributing to economy and through taxation.

So,

YABU - Women who choose not to have children shouldn't be entitled to anything else

YANBU - Women should be able to claim a small amount of extra paid time off if they stay in a career and contribute to business and societies success

Yes I think you’re being unreasonable. Ask for a sabbatical if you want to travel.
Maternity leave really is not a holiday and I certainly wouldn’t expect time off if I didn’t ‘need it’.

It's called a sabbatical.....

@ZeldaWillTellYourFortune see my above comment. There's a large percentage of pensioners now that have never worked, had a lovely husband that provided etc. Are you calling THEM a drain on society too?

Children shouldn't be treated as a luxury object only for the wealthy.

Well, absolutely nothing in life is free of tradeoffs. Expecting to make the monumental choice to procreate, with all of the ramifications it will produce for the next 75-100 years, without sacrifices or consequences, is a bit unrealistic.

I'd always assumed that the presence of one's beloved child made up for losses in other areas of life, but reading this thread, apparently not.

Are you one of those childfree types who make it their entire personality to be hostile towards children and families? They're more insufferable than the vegans.

If you don't have children, then you have fewer expenses

But don't forget you get nothing in tax credits, child benefit etc. if you are childless, even if you are on a low wage.

One need not be wealthy to apply oneself (and one's partner) to saving rigorously for several years to provide a cushion for maternity leave expenses, or to fund SAHM-hood until the kids are school age.

There's nothing wrong with a few years scrimping and saving to pay for one's dream, whatever it may be.

It is not just to look after a baby. It is to physically recover from the birth, to establish a secure bond which positively affect the baby through their life etc. There should be leave to look after parents too imo, but they are definitely different.

Except fertility is limited by time and there are better outcomes for mother and child if the mother is younger. Not exactly like a ferrari.

😂😂😂😂😂you are clearly deluded. Ok so I want to travel and have 6 months off paid....lovely relaxing time. Oh wait. i choose to have chikdren whonwill grow up and contribute to society one day. Its hard work and I dont have a moment to myself but it has its rewaards too. .

These are two enyirely different things altogether.....
Your choice....live with it. Or go get a sperm donor and have a child....its just like a holiday........😂😂😂😂

Agree. Why are people so hellbent that non-reproducers be denied something that won't cost the reproducers anything?

There is more than one way to lead a good life; choosing to spend a big chunk of it parenting is only one possible path. We all could use the opportunity to enrich our lives as we see fit.

Totally agree, this becomes necessary for many of us over 50s, but most employers aren't sympathetic to this.🤔

Not every child contributes positively to society. So do you think we should charge back parents whose offspring turn out to be antisocial, criminal, addicts, abusers, etc., for all of the support and benefits they have received? Since clearly they didn't do a very good job of it.

YANBU. Totally get you. Having children is (usually) a choice. It’s something people choose to do in their private life, outside work, purely for their own fulfilment.

Why shouldn’t people who don’t have children also get that amount of paid time to do something they choose to do in their own time for personal fulfilment?

It is outrageously unfair and discriminatory when you think about it. Unfortunately society would unlikely be able to pay for it, not with this current model of society/ capitalism.

I'd love to have a small amount of paid time off (in addition to usual annual leave and in addition to my maternity leave) to get away from my children for a while. This would have huge benefits to my mental health and to society as I would be less likely to kill someone.

Women often weren’t hired for a job because they might leave to have babies. Probably missed promotions for the same reason. Doesn’t matter whether they wanted children or not. This did not affect men obviously

If you check your contract there is possibly some sort of paid leave for major family problems.
Growing another human & trying to birth said human nearly killed me & her & has left me unable to ever work again.
As I was already not working when I found out I was pregnant, miracle as I was told at 20 I wouldn’t have children naturally without lots of medical help due to gynaecological issues, I got no maternity pay despite all the working I have done in the years prior to that when I’d have been able to claim maternity pay. Maybe maternity pay should be available from more than just employers.

Cannot believe fellow women would begrudge and try to belittle maternity leave as a ‘holiday that people with babies take’
people like y’all make it hard for politicians and employers to understand that maternity leave should be a right and not an option.
Having children might not be altruistic as you put it but the continuation of a society is dependent on having children and so whether you like to admit it or not, the women choosing to have children are doing the society a huge benefit That no one else can do. Sorry
who would take over your perky jobs when you retire? Look after you when you get older? Or pay taxes into the society so you can have social amenities like free prescriptions, The NHS, free transport, social services etc.

I cannot believe this ridiculous argument. And Yes, YIBVU!

I haven't RTFT cos I can't face it, but for what it's worth pre kids i would have felt the same I think. Post kids and after the struggle to get back into the workplace as an 'equal' as a mother of two I think it's ridiculous. It's not about how easy or difficult your baby is. The whole point of paid maternity leave is to allow women to have children and maintain a career, because their talents are worth maintaining in the workplace and strangely enough, it is still only women that can produce children and it's a huge physical and mental effort that takes time to recover from. It would be great if funds and business models allowed everyone to take 6 months paid leave but it's obviously not viable -and why should it be?The workplace should support mothers wishing to return to work as a priority above people who just fancy six months off.

Of course not

i took 14 months off as maternity leave to travel. Wasn’t in the UK for more than 4 weeks at a time during maternity leave.

Also what has it got to do with the country. The OP has said many times she is referring to companies that offer enhanced maternity leave. It wouldn’t be a tax burden

You could very likely take a sabbatical, which is essentially what I did for 6 months to extend my not great maternity leave. Maternity leave feels a lot more like sick leave than you are imagining… it’s really not a walk in the park and actually you are physically quite unable to do much at all. Many women are quite unwell after childbirth - it’s actually a huge thing to recover from. You probably do have the ability to take time off work to travel etc- speak to your HR and see what leave they could offer you. x

And the person who mentioned taking care of elderly parents, I totally agree there should be much more flexibility to allow people to do that.

I didn't get any maternity pay for any of my pregnancies either yet I'm not complaining about it, unlike all these "Where's MINE" childfree folks

I think it's a completely reasonable thought. Agree it could be tricky to manage and would need to be available to both sexes I'd say