What is ‘Grandparents Leave,’ And Would You Want Your Parents to Do It?
Consider yourself lucky if you have a parent (or parents) who help out with your kids. Consider yourself having hit the lottery if you have a parent who is willing to take a leave of absence from their job to do so.
That’s the idea behind “grandparents’ leave,” similar to a maternity or paternity leave but instead of the new mom or dad, it’s the new mom or dad’s parent(s) taking time off of work to take care of the baby.
A 60-something wrote about her experience taking grandparents leave’ in Business Insider, which she says gave her the opportunity to bond with her new granddaughter and help her daughter transition into motherhood. Once her son-in-law went back to work, the MIL (that’s shorthand for mother-in-law in millennial speak, by the way) also helped with dishes, laundry, diapers, food prep, and even took the occasional night shift with the baby.
“A few weeks after my grandchild's arrival, my daughter expressed concern that she was taking too much of my time,” she writes. “I joked that I was on ‘grandmaternity leave.’ Every day, I became more convinced that this should, in fact, become ‘a thing.’ Not only was I able to help my daughter navigate the early days of being a mom, but I also got to spend precious time with my own child, with whom I now shared something special in common — being a parent.”
In 2024, Sweden passed grandparents leave, giving parents the option to transfer up to 45 of their days of paid parental leave to people who are not the child’s legal guardian, including grandparents and other relatives. The goal here in paying grandma and grandpa to babysit was to promote a better work/life balance, ensure flexibility for the new parents, and promote gender equality by making caretaking easier for more diverse family types, including single parents.
Here in the U.S., grandparents’ leave obviously isn’t a law, not surprising considering our country can barely pull together a few weeks of unpaid FMLA for moms who just gave birth. This epic grandma chose to limit her hours at work as her daughter’s due date approached, and didn’t get paid to do so (but you can’t put a price on those memories, can you?)
Of course, this essay begs the question; would you want your mom or MIL to take a grandparents’ leave? Would this help ease the burden of new parenthood, or make things more stressful for you?
The answer will certainly depend on the relationship you have with the mother figures in your life. Surely if you’re not close, tend to get annoyed by her, and don't want her unsolicited parenting advice, you won’t want her in your space 24/7. (Hey, maybe our tips for how to get along with your in-laws will help?)
But if your mom is your best friend, your confidant, and your support system, having her there to teach you the ropes of motherhood—which in turn allows her to relive her own early days in the newborn trenches too—can be a unique way to bond.
“Overall, I'd give it five stars,” the essay concludes. “Highly recommended.”
Would you want someone you know to take a ‘grandparents leave’ to help you and/or your spouse?
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