Fathers must take paternity leave to help children develop

13 April 2012

Mothers who go back to work when their babies are still young should not blame themselves if the children have developmental problems later on, it has been claimed.

New research from the Equal Opportunities Commission found that developmental problems could be blamed on fathers who did not take time off work for the birth of their baby.

In its report, The State of the Modern Family, the EOC added that many low-paid fathers could not afford to take time off their job and called on the Government to do more to help poorer families.

Commission chairman Jenny Watson said: "Fathers in poorer families are less able to afford two weeks paternity leave ... we need to give families more choice about childcare and work flexibility."

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