Why Calling 6 Months of Paternity Leave “Ridiculous” Is What’s Actually Ridiculous
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By Clare Willetts – CEO & Founder not only pink and blue
When a recent headline dismissed the idea of six months’ paternity leave as “ridiculous”, it reignited a debate that’s long overdue for a reboot. While some still see paternity leave as optional or excessive, the evidence paints a very different picture, one where dads at home aren’t a luxury, but a powerful force for good.
Paternity leave isn’t a perk, it’s a necessity
Let’s get this straight: longer paternity leave isn’t about dads kicking back on the sofa with a baby in one arm and the remote in the other. It’s about bonding, caregiving, and building stronger families from the start.
According to the Fatherhood Institute, dads who take paternity leave are:
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More likely to stay involved in their child’s life long-term
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More likely to support their partner, easing the mental and physical toll of early parenthood
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Less likely to experience postnatal depression themselves
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More likely to raise children who do better at school, are more emotionally secure, and have stronger relationships later in life
And it doesn’t stop there. A father’s early involvement has been linked to better outcomes for mothers, including faster physical recovery and lower rates of postnatal depression.
The Global standard is changing, we’re just behind
Countries like Sweden, Norway, and Iceland offer generous, well-compensated leave to both parents, and the results are clear: better mental health, smaller gender pay gaps, and more engaged fathers.
Compare that to the UK, where new dads are entitled to just two weeks of Statutory Paternity Leave, paid at £172.48 per week (or 90% of their average weekly earnings, whichever is lower). It’s a far cry from a liveable wage, and certainly not an incentive to take time with their children.
Beyond that, parents can choose to share up to 50 weeks of leave and 37 weeks of pay under the Shared Parental Leave (SPL) scheme. But again, the pay is minimal, Statutory Shared Parental Pay is also just £172.48 per week.
It’s no wonder that only 1 in 4 eligible fathers take Shared Parental Leave, not because they don’t want to be there for their families, but because they can’t afford to be.
Couple that with societal expectations, unsupportive managers, and workplaces that do not have policies or a culture allowing men to take longer paternity leave, there are a lot of barriers to overcome.
If we want fathers to be equal partners in parenting, we need to stop punishing them financially for showing up.
Six months is not excessive, it’s effective
Let’s stop framing paternal care as a “favour” to mums or a “career break” for dads. Six months of paternity leave might sound like a lot to some, but the data tells us it could be the best investment we make in the next generation.
Research consistently shows that:
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Children with involved fathers score higher on cognitive tests
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Relationships improve, not just with children, but between partners
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Workplaces benefit from more loyal, balanced, and mentally healthy employees
Time to grow up about fatherhood
We don’t need to ask if fathers deserve to be at home—we need to ask why we’re still making it so hard for them to do so.
If we care about gender equality, mental health, child development, and thriving families, then we need to care about paternity leave. Not as a progressive luxury, but as a core part of modern parenting.
So no, six months isn’t ridiculous. What’s ridiculous is pretending that dads don’t matter.
References:
The Fatherhood Institute: https://www.fatherhoodinstitute.org
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