F amily-friendly policies are all the rage. Politicians trip over each other to advocate tax credits for parents. Corporations tout how they allow flexibility for working parents. In many cases, they provide low cost or even free child care to employees with young children. We routinely sing the praises of employers who provide extended leaves to new mothers and promise no punitive consequences to their careers, even if they suspend them for a while to attend to the demands of child-rearing.
Paternity leaves are a sign of a company's progressiveness.
We smile benignly upon programs that encourage parents to bring their children to the workplace. Managers who find it within their hearts to allow parents time off with pay to visit schools, attend a child's play or pick up their kids at the bus stop, are the good guys. Everyone thinks it's hunky-dory that those with kids get child care deductions. After all, the American family is the bedrock of society. The more we bolster it, the stronger and better we all are.