Hot on HuffPost Parents:
Susan Maushart: Digital Guilt: Mommy, Her iPad, and Me
Jim Medalia: Mentoring or Meddling - When Do You Stop Parenting?
Germany says to its citizens: go make more babies!
Filed under: Your Pregnancy, Activities: Babies
With their nation's birthrate declining big time, Germany's government has released a new parental benefit package, attempting to make it easier for middle-class, professional women to have kids.
If current trends continue, the country's population could drop from 82 million to 50 million by 2050.
So what gives? Don't German people have sex? Yes, of course they do, but Hitler's Nazi regime encouraged people to grow his so-called "master race" by having large families. So in post-war Germany, there was considerable backlash against this ideology, resulting in smaller families and fewer population studies.
Under the new plan, mothers or fathers are entitled to67% of their income, up to $2,363 a month, while staying home for a maximum of 14 months. Interestingly, the plan requires fathers to take off at least 2 months from work for a family to receive full benefits. Also, because the plan goes into effect on January 1, it's thought that some mothers are actually trying to hold off giving birth until midnight on December 31st.
Sure, you don't want to mess with the natural birth process, but for those kinds of benefits, I can understand why families would be trying to wait. To an American, being paid to stay home with your kid sounds like some kind of fairy tale.
YourVoice
Ask Us Anything About Parenting
Recently Asked
- i have 4 kids single mom. maddy who is 10 katherine who i 9 suzy who is 4 and connor who is 3. i can not potty train connnor and i do not have any mal...
- Dealing with being a single mom
- When A father does not visit his children because the new girlfriend has said "it's me or the kids"...how can the children be protected
TheTalkies:RelatedVideos
-
Ereka's Girl Talk: Dieting
Ereka and 4 other women talk about their weight and how they dealt with dieting in their lives.
-
Cologne Germany Travel Tips
Cologne, a German city with a resilient Roman, is Germany's fourth largest city. Autumn is considered the best time to visit, as carnival season starts in mid-November. The city's Gothic Cathedral is a UNESCO world heritage site.
-
Visit the Christmas Markets of Regensburg
Learn about the Christmas Markets of Regensburg, Germany, in this travel video by Seasoned Traveler. In this town you can also get a taste of the famous Regensburg sausages. Part 1 out of 2.
-
Visit the Christmas Markets of Germany
Learn about the Christmas Markets of Germany in this traveling video by Seasoned Traveler. In these markets, you can taste the Christmas spirit in the form of a variety of cakes, sweets, and Germany's famous sausages.
SitesWeLove
- Site Map
- |
- Staff
- |
- Terms of Service
- |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Trademarks
- |
- Advertise With Us
- |
- About Our Ads
- |
- AOL Downloads
- |
- Contact Us
- |
© Copyright 2012 AOL Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Aol Family
ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)
12-27-2006 @ 3:37PM
daisy said...Ugh, this is kinda weird, because doesn't Germany know have a huge influx of Turkish immigrants? And a huge anti-immigrant backlash? Maybe if they opened their borders more, their population would grow or stablize.
Though the parental leave sounds great!
Reply
12-27-2006 @ 11:42AM
chelle said...Canada has been providing Maternity and Paternity leave forever. It is not *just* to encourage higher birth rates. It is an attitude that the country has towards, women, families and children. Supporting the future leaders of your country in childhood is a good thing.
Reply
12-27-2006 @ 7:41PM
Amy said...How are women going to wait until January 1? I hate policies like that, that take effect at a certain time, no exceptions. They should give the benefits to everyone who was pregnant at the time they thought of the whole thing.
Reply