One of the most important things in life for me has always been spending time with family. It is something my parents and grandparents instilled in us from a very early age. We ate together and had conversations about our day, school, life, God and whatever was happening in the world at that time. This is something that we have carried on in our adult family life as parents. As the kids are all grown and gone now, we still take the time to call or answer a call and just chat about what is going on. Behind God, I give this principle a close second to preparing our children for the diversity of the world today and that has paid for itself repeatedly.
Apparently, 73% of all U.S. adults feel that family time is one of the most important personal things to them. It is something that is emphasized, no matter how much time is dedicated to it. It is in the forethought of nine in ten adults who view family time as one of the most important things or as a very important but not the most important thing. There is also no party divide on the issue between Republicans and Democrats. Republicans came in at 92% and Democrats at 89% on this issue. Wow, we just found another issue of non-partisan divide among the parties. An issue that starts with birth and carries onto adulthood with no regard to party affiliation.
So many families do not have the opportunity to experience newborn quality bonding life as there is a lack of maternity leave for families in the workplace. Florida has expanded maternity and family leave for full-time State of Florida Employees. “The new policy covers any new mother or father that has been with the State of Florida as a full-time employee for at least one year. The new state employee leave policy provides a) 280 hours (7 weeks) of paid maternity leave immediately following the birth of a child. b) 80 hours (2 weeks) of paid parental leave within the first 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child. c) Authorizes the use of sick leave to bond with a new child for up to a maximum of 16 weeks (when combined with paid maternity and parental leave) within the first 12 months of the birth or adoption of a child.” The policy expansion also allows paid family leave insurance to be offered to Florida employers through supplemental insurance for their own employees. The expansion covers births, and adoptions and even includes private employers. This new policy will allow mothers to be able to fully recover from childbirth. It will allow both parents the opportunity to bond and love the child without the financial worry of loss of income. Most importantly early bonding with newborns could greatly impact their social and cognitive development. This is an important role as they are our next generation of leaders and service providers, and shouldn’t we provide them with as many opportunities as we can for them to succeed? You never know you might be sitting in your recliner one day and say, hey I remember when that kid was born, and look at him now, he is running for President.
I encourage you to look for the things we can all agree on and that makes us a little less likely to dig in on the things we disagree on. There is a middle of the road and sometimes we must look and search relentlessly to get there, but it is there. You just remember when it’s election time to vote for those you think had you and your community’s best interest at hand. I will leave you with those thoughts and that concludes this week’s edition of The Straight Truth With Mary Ann Hutton.