Raising a child in the United States requires an abundant amount of planning, dedication, and time. According to a 2016 article by the Pew Research Center, the United States is one of nine countries that does not require nationwide parental leave for new parents. All other countries offer some sort of parental leave; countries including Cuba, Mongolia, and Germany offer over one year of fully paid parental leave.
Since the United States does not offer nationwide parental leave, the power is in the hands of the employer to determine how much paid leave to offer, if any.
According to Mrs. GiGi Johnson, director of human resources at Stone Ridge, the current maternity leave policy for the Stone Ridge faculty and staff is that each new mother gets four weeks of maternity leave at regular compensation paid by the school and six weeks of short term disability in which there is a two week waiting period and then four weeks paid at 60 percent of her salary not to exceed $600 a week. In accordance with the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA), all eligible mothers are able to take a total of at least 12 weeks off.
Ms. Miranda Whitmore has been teaching in the Stone Ridge Upper School English Department for seven years. On March 20, she gave birth to her first child, a baby girl named Loula.
“I worry even with her being four or five months old,coming back [to work],” said Ms. Whitmore. “I would be lying if I said that it isn’t anxiety provoking.”
Mrs. Lesley Sheldon has been working at Stone Ridge as the first grade teacher for 16 years as a first grade teacher and began her new position as a kindergarten teacher this year.
Mrs. Sheldon’s family She has two sons, Dylan and Dean, who both attended SR
She has two sons, Dylan and Dean, who both attended SR until kindergarten. She also has a daughter, Lauren, who is a prekindergartener at Stone Ridge.
Originally from the Bahamas, Mrs. Sheldon was raised in a time when many families had more time to be together.
“When parents had to go to work, extended family worked together to care for the children,” said Mrs. Sheldon. “[In the U.S.] there is never enough time to be with your kids. We now live in a time where it sometimes feels as though ourlives are driven by business, “busyness,” and work.”
Mr. McGhee’s Children
The Stone Ridge policy for paternity leave is two weeks off at full pay. Mr. Jason McGhee, Stone Ridge’s athletic director, has two daughters: Anna, age 10 months, and Margaret, age 3.
“It’s hard, especially with a C-section, because [new mothers] cannot drive, and they have a hard time moving up and down the stairs, so the more time the better,” added Mr. McGhee about the importance of paternity leave for fathers.
After the two weeks of paternity leave are used, Mr. McGhee said some fathers may worry about losing the connection with their new babies.
“It’s hard to leave,” he said. “You want to be there for them. Your biggest thought is making sure your wife is okay. More selfishly, you want to have the time to bond, and feeding them bottles in the middle of the night doesn’t really do that.”
Mr. McGhee says he is pleased with Stone Ridge’s flexibility and support for new parents. “Stone Ridge is very generous, and I feel very confident that if I needed longer than two weeks, I know that administration would find a way to support me with that,” he said.
Most parents can agree that all they want is to give their kids safety and love, but after physically being with them during parental leave, new parents face another challenge in dropping their babies off at childcare for the first time and putting their safety into the hands of someone else.
An NPR article published in January 2017 recounted the story of new mother Narinder Walia, who encountered the worst case scenario of not being able to find a quality childcare for her three-month-old son, Avin. Walia had no choice but to return to work after her maternity leave was over.
The center that Walia chose for her child “set off some red flags. But it was the best available,” according to the NPR article. Due to the lack of experience with infants from the child care provider, the baby was placed “belly-down in his bassinet — a move that goes against established infant-care guidelines set by the American Academy of Pediatrics,” says the NPR article. While this experience is rare, Avin died on his first day away from his mother.
Stone Ridge’s faculty and staff have the great benefit of having the Stone Ridge infant and toddler program at their fingertips. Teachers say they love this program because it gives them a sense of relief, knowing that their children are in the hands of loving caregivers.
Ms. Whitmore says that “Stone Ridge is a family friendly place” where teachers are able to be flexible with their schedules so that they do not miss out on their children’s lives.
“It doesn’t feel great that it’s only 10 weeks, but then I get this great perk on the other side where I get to bring her back to work with me,” Ms. Whitmore said.
“I find a lot of balance, that my family is welcomed here and it is such a blessing,” said Mr. McGhee. “I see my kids on the playground and I can run up during lunch if I want to say hi.”
“People with babies love working here,” said Mrs. Sheldon. “There is nothing I want to see more than my baby Lauren in 2030 in the white gown and red rose.”