Reasons To Be Cheerful · 9 hours ago

More American Dads Are Taking Parental Leave

When A.J. Johnson's first son was born, he cobbled together sick leave to take six weeks off - his newborn still wasn't sleeping through the night when he had to return to 24-hour firefighter shifts, leaving his wife and infant alone for stretches that filled him with quiet dread. When his second son arrived, Washington State's paid family leave program was fully in place, and Johnson took nearly six months: "Having the ability to be there for my three-year-old and my wife, but also being able to bond with my newborn, was the most amazing [few months] of my life." His story is one of thousands reshaping a long-held assumption - that fathers, by nature or necessity, belong on the periphery of early parenthood. Data from fourteen states now shows that when men are given the financial protection to step toward their families, they do, in numbers that researchers describe as "a total explosion." What's emerging is less a policy story than a portrait of desire long outpacing permission - fathers who wanted to show up, finally given the means to do so.