Paternity Leave Helps Children By Promoting Coparenting

C. Philip Hwang is a professor of Psychology at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden. His research focuses on child development, fatherhood, and the linkages between gender, family, and work in post-industrialized societies. He currently oversees the Gothenburg Longitudinal Developmental Study (GoLD), a 30-year prospective longitudinal study of Swedish families. Nationalized paternity leave policies in Sweden and other Nordic countries help men to advocate for their own leave at work. Support for working dads also represents support for working moms, who they are also looking to retain and reward. Research indicates that coparenting is vital to development and that coparenting is a skill that takes time to master. Children thrive when parents share their care. When dad is not only a source of parental love, but also a consistent presence, and a partner in the joint enterprise of parenthood, children benefit. But the participation of fathers in meaningful coparenting, arguably the most important role a paternal figure can take in terms of promoting early child development, is hardly a given. Men have not historically been encouraged to act as caregivers or to prioritize caregiving. This is why supports like paternity leave that facilitate fathers’ involvement and encourage him to become a competent and confident parent contribute so meaningfully to kids’ long-term wellbeing. Unfortunately, American policy makers and human resource professionals have struggled to design leave a…