Entitled Parents

So we all know how I feel about using children as an excuse. I know it's difficult to be a parent and I have all the respect in the world for those who choose to become parents and are dedicated to their children.

There comes a time when this becomes absurd. Being a parent shouldn't entitle you to any special privileges. Maybe I'm just tired and unsympathetic right now, but just because you spawn some progeny doesn't mean you should get more sick leave.

Yes. A friend with a new baby was complaining that because she has to take care of 2 people she should be entitled to two times the sick leave. Nope, sorry. You chose to have kids. I didn't choose to have a disease that has me spending a lot of sick, vacation, and unpaid leave to care for myself. Just because you've decided to have kids doesn't mean you should have more rights to sick time than I do.

In the first year of life, new parents are entitled to 12 weeks of FMLA. Mom and Dad both have that option (should their employers be large enough), so that amounts to 24 weeks of leave. Yes, babies get sick often and can often make the parents sick also, but that shouldn't get you more leave. Heck, you should feel lucky you have paid leave at all. There are millions of parents in this country who don't have paid leave of any kind, let alone the ability to take FMLA time, even if they are legally entitled to it.

"Children are the future." Yes. They are. But your child's future doesn't make you more important than me, especially not in the eyes of the law. Parents get a lot of leeway for a lot of things and people don't ask new parents for favors. Take what you can get and please, for the love of all that is good, just shut up about what a challenge it is. Talk to me when you've been going to work for the better part of the last 4 months while sick enough to take a sick day.

Note: many of the parents I know are not like this, but there are a vocal few who seem to think they're better than I am and more deserving of the ability to have time off when they or little Timmy are sick.