06 January 2023 , 15:33
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For many new parents, maternity or paternity leave is an important opportunity to get into a new routine with their baby, and to soak up that incredibly precious time with their tot in the early stages of their arrival.
But one man has faced a huge backlash from his wife after he suggested he take two of his eight paternity leave weeks to visit his family who live in a different part of the country.
The pair both get eight weeks leave from work and the mum is planning to take hers around the time of the birth and was expecting her husband to do something similar.
He says he rarely gets to see his family (stock photo) (Getty Images)However, she was left fuming when he instead suggested he take two weeks off to visit his family and feels this is the best opportunity to do so without cutting into his holiday days.
Taking to Reddit, the man explained: "She thinks that I should take two weeks when the baby is born and six weeks when she goes back to work so that we don't need to put the kid in childcare until he's 14- weeks- old. "
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But he went onto explain his plan to visit the family left her with two options.
He said: "I can spend six weeks with the baby when she goes back to work but I won't take the first two weeks off. Or, I can take two weeks off when the baby is born and then four weeks off when she goes back to work. This is my preference.
"My wife says this is unacceptable and that I'm prioritizing [sic] my family over her and the baby. I disagree. I don't think it makes much of a difference if the baby starts daycare at 12 or 14 weeks.
"I only get to see my family once or twice a year since they moved out of state and I think this is a good opportunity to do so without it impacting our vacation time. "
He said that she has issues with his family so is possibly bringing too much of this into the discussion.
In response, many have supported the woman and said her husband should be there for her more at this difficult time for her.
One person wrote: "Paternity leave is meant for you to be with the baby, not go on vacation."
While another said: "This guy is on the road to being an ex."