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What Paternity Leave Does for a Father’s Brain
陪产假对父亲的大脑有什么影响
After President Biden left paid family leave out of his Build Back Better Act last month, a familiar marshaling of forces took place. Women’s groups and female leaders protested. Senator Patty Murray of Washington said Democrats should not “tell all the women in this country that they can’t have paid leave.” Democratic leaders, well aware that women are the base of the party, have restored four weeks of family leave, at least for now.
自从拜登总统上个月将带薪家庭假从他的《重建更好未来》法案中删除以后，一场熟悉的力量集结行动开始了。妇女团体和女性领导人对此表示抗议。华盛顿州参议员帕蒂·默里表示，民主党人不应该 "告诉这个国家的所有女性，她们不能享受带薪休假"。民主党领导人深知女性是该党的基础，所以已经恢复了四个星期的带薪家庭假，至少目前是这样。
But as with so much about parenting, the focus was on mothers, and that’s outdated and misleading. Although women bear the brunt of family caregiving in the U.S., paid leave is more than a women’s issue. Research conducted by our lab and others in our field shows the importance of family leave for mothers and fathers. There is more evidence than ever for the benefits of paternity leave — for fathers themselves, and the rest of the family too.
但是，就像很多关于育儿的事情一样，重点在母亲身上，而这种观点已经过时，而且有误导性。尽管在美国，妇女在照顾家庭方面首当其冲，但带薪休假不仅仅是女性的问题。我们的实验室和这个领域里的其他研究表明，家庭假对父母的重要性。越来越多的证据表明，陪产假对父亲和家庭其他成员都有好处。
Paternity leave bolsters family relationships. Among 6,000 couples followed from when their child was a baby until kindergarten age, couples in which fathers took even just a week or two of paternity leave were 26 percent more likely to stay married, compared to couples in which fathers took no leave. Another study found that when fathers took paternity leave their children reported closer relationships with their dads nine years later. One reason that paternity leave might boost fathers’ relationships is that parenting experience transforms men’s brains and bodies.
陪产假有助于巩固家庭关系。在对6,000对夫妇的调查中发现，在孩子从婴儿到上幼儿园的年龄期间，即便父亲只休一到两周陪产假（的夫妇），维持婚姻关系的可能性，要比没有休陪产假的夫妇高出26%。另一项研究发现，父亲休了陪产假，九年后孩子与父亲的关系更亲密。陪产假促进父子关系的一个原因可能是，养育子女的经历改变了男性的大脑和身体。
