In a country that aims to a more equal and modern society, we cannot continue to perpetuate the practices and social expectations that, more or less thinly, delegate the whole responsibility of the parents in the early years of a child’s life. There is also a rooted culture that is normalized today that the mother is leaving the work soon, missing when you hire daytime assistance, to make medical appointments or be present at school holidays. When it is the father to take this role, he is often praised as if they were “helping”, when, in fact, he should be recognized only as what he is: a parent with equal functions and responsibilities.
By Diogo Fernandes Sousa *
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True equality in parenting will be achieved only when rights and duties are mandatory between the two parents. It is in this context that I support the implementation of a compulsory parental license, egalitarian and non -transferable, in which father and mother enjoy a minimum of six months each, without loss of high school and can be extendable up to a year with a reduced loss of income. This measure should not be seen not as a privilege, but as a right of structuring and an instrument of social justice and human development.
Several scientific studies show that the presence of parents in the first year of the child’s life has a positive impact on their emotional, cognitive and relational development.
On the other hand, when the license is optional rather than equal, the current practice continues to fall disproportionately to women, strengthening work and social inequalities. The woman interrupts her career more frequently, loses performance, accumulates physical and emotional anguish and sees her professional progression committed. The man, in turn, loses the opportunity to establish a deeper connection with his son in the first months of the child’s life.
Making the parental license between father and mandatory mother represents a greater balance between professional and family life, relieving women of disproportionate weight of the responsibility of parents and allowing men to be full of paternity. In addition, it would go directly to the benefit of the children, who would grow in an environment in which both parents are, from the beginning, equally present, attentive figures and caregiver.
The topic of the cost should not overlap the social and human value. Long -term benefits such as the promotion of gender equality, children’s well -being and family cohesion compensate for investments, which can also be seen as a Christmas measure.
If we want to fight inequality and build a balanced society, we must start with the base of parenting. This transformation begins with a structural reform of the parental license.
* Writer of the book “Direction of the Nation: Reflection on Portuguese”. Professor at the Jean Piaget Polytechnic Institute.
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