If money was no object how long would you like maternity leave to last?

[Malaleche]

If the gov. paid you 100% of your lost income while you were on maternity leave how many weeks or months or years would you take?

Efficiency

So beor do the parents still get the money if the child is living independant like with wife/child etc?
Hadn't previously given German tax system a lot of thought tbh.
Am just wondering if I can 'move' there claim child benefit and come back home after a week could make the dcs quite profitable!

ILs were still getting the money for dh after we were married, but I was a student too, on a tax-free scholarship (and actually not living in the same country, for a couple of years) - if I'd had income above a certain threshold they wouldn't have got it.

ahh
sorry just disappeared computer ran out of juice and I'd just typed a very long post apologising to Malaleche for not being more sympa re the Spanish system and agreeing that it would be interesting if all EU got same 'benefits' and saying I often wonder how the French large family system works and congrstulating you on being pregnant.

And apologising for all the typos

The Germans really admire the French system. There's a lot of 'they manage this fantastic birthrate, how can we copy them?' in the media here atm.

I would LOVE to go and live in France. [wistful emoticon]

I'd be happy with going back to the UK...

oh oh, 1.30am here, got to be up tomorrow. Night night

Night

1 year paid initially and then the chance to take a further 6 months off paid before they are 5 would be good.

Agree with the 6 months, but how about by 8 thereby allowing some leeway for schol holidays when they are v. young?

Mala it's 6 weeks at 90% pay and then it drops off a cliff unless you're already on the povery line (goes to £112) so mostp eople in proper jobs can't afford it unless they married rich men and are psychologically prepared to live off male earnings.

1dilemma - its ok, btw im not preg if it was me you meant, have 2 DDs 3.9 yo and 9 mo.
Xenia- is that in the UK?

id be happy to live of DPs earnings for a couple of years, unfortunately he works for me, most of the time....He doesnt seem to mind living off my initiative/business projects tho. Shouldnt complain, he does all the cooking and most of the housework, and is doing my job for me at present, i think its fair enough but some people, like my mum, seem to think i should be grateful

Forever! At least I think that now (I'm supposed to be working at the moment and can't be arsed). I might actually want to do something for money.
We took out a loan to help us through my maternity leave with dd, and I put money on credit cards and I never got more than the £100 as I am freelance.
I loved, loved, loved being on mat leave with dd. So happy!

Mala, yes in the UK. 6 weeks at 90% pay and then including that 6 mnoths at about £112 a week (which I think has just gone up to 9 months). It used to be 6 months at that rate and 6 months you could also take off but unpaid I think. I'm not an expert by any means. From 2009 I think women will have 6 months and men 6 months after that if they choose both on the £112 but they are still consulting employers about that. It might cause some men to insist they stay home and force their wives back for the second 6 months which might be a good thing but £112 a week is not a huge sum given the average UK age is £20,000 a year so a lot of people can't afford that. You can legally go back as an employee after 2 weeks which was about right for me (and 4 weeks if you work in a factory).

Forever.

Going out to work is vastly over rated and I'll never do it again if I can get away with it (I'm a freelancer adn it's suit me much better).

'Psychologically prepared to live off male earnings' - ha ha, what a bizarre way of looking at it!

In Spain you have to take 6 weeks off after the birth, the remaining 10 weeks can be taken partly before and partly after or all after. Men get a week i think.

gobbledigook - yes, i agree actually, it's just 'our' money, not 'his' and 'mine'...

Ditto - everyone is different but I cannot get my head round the separate finances thing adn feeling dependent. Once upon a time I out earned dh and it was no more an issue then as it is now the other way around.

yes, at the risk of getting into a mahoosive argument here - why bother having kids if you're not prepared to spend some time with them, especially when they are little. Some sacrifice is inevitable, it's not forever. Did you have very easy births Xenia?