Could a vote for Bernie Sanders eliminate the parenting happiness gap?(Image: jill111/Pixabay/CC0 1.0 )
Father’s Day falls the third Sunday of June each year, and as that day comes upon us we greet it with some rather sad news about parenting in America. A soon to be published study by a team from the University of Texas has found what it describes as a “happiness gap” between parents and people who have no children. Worse still, out of parents from the 22 developed nations included in the study, Americans experienced the largest happiness gap – significantly larger than all other nations surveyed.
There is one good piece of news, though: we are not fated to be sad just because we are parents. In fact, parents in some nations are actually happier than their childless counterparts. And in countries where parents are no less happy than non-parents, there is one single factor that makes the difference: a package of paid sick days and vacation, parental leave, and subsidized child care. In countries where parents enjoy these benefits, the happiness gap is closed. Furthermore, even for non-parents, these benefits mean increased happiness.
Just think how happy Americans could be if all workers could enjoy these things, and how much it would strengthen the bonds within families!
If you have been watching the debates and rallies connected with the Democratic presidential race, you will no doubt have heard Bernie Sanders speak passionately about the need for a family benefits package in the United States. Sanders, a proud father and grandfather, believes strongly in what he calls “real family values.” He is a strong advocate for paid parental and medical leave for all workers, as well as for access to paid sick days and vacation time. These are the exact benefits needed to close the parenting happiness gap in America.
While the voting for the presidential primary has concluded, Bernie Sanders has not yet conceded defeat. Sanders has appealed to the so-called super-delegates to switch alliances and vote for him at the upcoming convention. There is also some speculation about whether the FBI might soon be ready to indict Hillary Clinton, and whether that would cause her to drop out of the race.
Clearly, there is still time for something to change.
Could Americans be one step closer to eliminating the parenting happiness gap this year? If the name Bernie Sanders is written on that ballot in November, the answer is yes!
Original content © 2016 Kyla Matton Osborne
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Family bonding is very important ,it builds strong family relationship. We noticed, there are many mentally retarded children in United States and one factor is parent-children relationship not attained.
We in India are emulating what existed in the US in the back old days, where we now understand family ties are being given value
@bestwriter I would have thought family always played an important role in India. I'm not sure how far back you're going in your reference, but I've long thought that the countries that did the best job of placing the emphasis on the family were in Scandinavia.
Unfortunately, in the United States, the mention of "family values" has often been connected with an extremely conservative political agenda. As Bernie Sanders mentions in his discussion of family values, that agenda is at the root of some policies that harm the family unit more than they help.
Yeah I read about it as well. They even said that the best place to have a family and have kids is in Finland. It seems that the government gives new families "almost" everything they need to get started (including a foldable cot!) to each family that recently had babies. If only all countries will be like this, new parents would enjoy they kids a lot more and stress about life less. Sad reality is that most people can't afford this "luxury" as both parents need to work full-time or more to earn a decent living.
@lovern That's a very simplistic view of mental retardation, and I'm not entirely sure it's an accurate one. My understanding is that mental retardation occurs with about the same frequency, anywhere in the world.
As the parent of a mentally retarded child who spent almost every minute of his first four years in Mama's arms, I can assure you that even though there are neglected children (e.g. children raised in overcrowded orphanages in Russia and China) who are both emotionally impaired and developmentally delayed, successful parent-child bonding is no shield against the many other things that cause intellectual disabilities.
We parents of disabled children suffer a great deal of criticism and scorn, often from people who have no idea what we live with day to day. It's very hurtful when anyone even suggests that our children's disabilities are simply the result of poor parental competence or involvement.
@Ruby3881, I got this info from my friends who are teaching Special Education in America. They said most of them belonged from a broken family and the children are so much affected.This is also case to case and hereditary in nature.
May the best candidate wins during the presidential election in United States. Let us hope for a peaceful election.
Thanks for sharing this information!