Parenthood is an utterly unique experience. I’ve been lucky enough to experience those firsts four times over and know that this awesome privilege includes a solemn responsibility: to raise healthy, conscious and compassionate children who will become the next generation of leaders, thinkers and parents themselves. But no matter how much we praise parenthood in our rhetoric, our current public policies — particularly those surrounding parental leave — haven’t kept up with the changing face of American families.  → Read More

“Today’s parents are stretched out like never before. Dads are Stretch Armstrong — tugged in multiple directions at work and at home, and still somehow expected to keep that big smile and buff physique! Moms are no less stretched out. They’re Elastigirl!” CNN Reporter Josh Levs wrote on his blog. “It’s time for our country to follow suit — to stretch out its understandings of men and women and the policies that affect their lives. In a country that prides itself on family values, we can do a better job of valuing families — moms, children, and us dads as well. You can’t have family values without valuing fathers.”  → Read More

One of the most difficult obstacles facing families today is lack of paid maternity leave. But, while it is often discussed and lamented, many women do not know how to take action and get involved in the fight for it. That’s why I was impressed by journalist and mother Kelly Regan Taber. After her difficult experience negotiating her own maternity leave and reading up on how the lack of paid leave is hurting U.S. families, she decided to do something about it.  → Read More

The crux of the problem is simply this—women have taken on a greater share of breadwinning while maintaining their responsibilities as primary caregivers. But breadwinning has not always come with greater access to health benefits, and too often, women’s health has been compromised as women try to combine work and family responsibilities.  → Read More