Submitted by needaname1234 t3_zyhg6x in personalfinance
We are going to have our first kid soon, and we are thinking about finances/maternity/paternity. I get 12 weeks of paternity with full salary paid. However, the end of year bonus does not reflect that time (ie I would get about 75% of my ordinary bonus). Usually my bonus is about 100-130k+, split between cash and stock, so I'd be losing 25-33k by taking paternity. The average nanny salary in our area just looking online seems to be 55k/year, meaning 14k for those 3 months.
So given that it might financially be better to work, does bonding time with a baby during that time trump the savings? I was under the impression that at that age they pretty much eat/sleep/potty, so maybe being wfh and being there at night is enough? Or maybe just having time away from work is good so that work quality isn't ruined as much by lack of sleep?
Edit: Thanks for all the thoughts everyone, really appreciate the perspective. I think I am going to take the full thing.