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Dear Mr. Dad: My wife is due to give birth in a few months and I\u2019m trying to work something out with my employer to take some leave after the baby is born. What\u2019s a good amount of time to take off?<\/em><\/p>\n A:<\/strong>\u00a0Great question\u2014one which, unfortunately, has no single answer that will work for everyone. That said, I recommend that you take off as much as you\u2019re able to\u2014without jeopardizing your job or your family\u2019s finances.<\/p>\n Your first order of business is to do some research into what types of legally mandated leave programs you\u2019re eligible for. The federal Family and Medical Leave Act provides many employees (about 56%, according to the US Department of Labor) with 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave. In addition, about a dozen states have passed paid family leave laws. However, the United States remains one of just a handful of countries (and the only wealthy one) that doesn\u2019t have a national paid maternity leave program. When it comes to paid\u00a0paternity<\/em>\u00a0leave, the US is one of just over 80 countries (out of roughly 200) that don\u2019t require it. But more than 100 do, with leave periods ranging from just a few weeks to over a year. The average amount of leave for fathers in the European Union is 6.3 weeks (paid), according to a study by the career resources company Zippia (https:\/\/www.zippia.com\/).<\/p>\n Read the rest of this article on Armin\u2019s blog.<\/em><\/p>\n Photo by\u00a0Toa Heftiba\u00a0on\u00a0Unsplash<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n