My husband taking paternity leave made our home and work life much more enjoyable.

Our family of three welcomed a new life this summer. With the birth, we also experienced a "double paternity leave" (my husband for two months, and I plan to take it until next spring) for the first time.

At the time, my husband had only been at his new job for four months. I have nothing but gratitude for his company, which allowed him to take paternity leave so soon after joining (in fact, they even told him, "You absolutely must take it").

When we visited a senior colleague from my husband's company the other day, I solemnly thanked them, saying, "Thank you for the paternity leave. I appreciate your support." The colleague replied, "Are we in the Showa era?"

I realized that I still had an old-fashioned mindset, as the nuance that "there is no need to feel sorry or go out of your way to thank us" came across clearly. At the same time, I became a huge fan of my husband's company.

When I tell friends and acquaintances that "my husband took two months of paternity leave," they are surprised and say, "What a great company!" so my husband's reputation among those around me has skyrocketed.

Dual-income households have become the norm, and many men naturally participate in housework and childcare. Even so, men taking paternity leave is still not progressing much. It seems that even for those who do take it, the majority only take a "few days."

I hope that more and more companies will become places where "men can easily take paternity leave (if the family or the individual wishes)." With that sentiment, I would like to share what happened during our family's "double paternity leave."

I'm embarrassed to admit it, but personally, I was skeptical about "men taking paternity leave."

I thought men's paternity leave would just add the burden of "taking care of the husband" to the wife's work. I'd have to properly cook lunch, which I could easily finish on my own. And surely one person is enough to take care of a newborn. In short, I was looking at it from a cynical, confrontational perspective.

My prejudice was turned 180 degrees by this summer's experience. By the way, here are the specs of our family.

Wife: 34 years old, a working mom of 6 years who loves her job.
Husband: 34 years old, just changed jobs to a net venture company that is aggressively promoting paternity leave for men.Daughter: 6 years old, a free spirit, talks a lot.
Son: 0 years old, just born in the last summer of the Heisei era.

Starting with my husband's enthusiasm to "watch over the child's growth from birth," and with his company president pushing him on his first day of work to "definitely take paternity leave," our double paternity leave life began.

My husband took on most of the emotional care for our older daughter, and his housework and childcare skills also improved. It was a period where everyone in the family could spend time healthily and calmly.

Our daughter had shown a positive attitude toward the baby since I was pregnant, saying things like "I'm excited" and "So cute." However, she seemed to be getting more frustrated at daycare, and her teachers were worried. She likely felt a sense of crisis that the love she had received exclusively might be taken by a new threat.

My husband actively took her out. The birth happened to be during the peak summer leisure season. While everyone else was going out to play, we were able to provide her with various experiences beyond the norm, rather than making her endure things. I could never have done that alone.

Following the advice of our seniors, we handled everything with "older sister first" as the priority. Thanks to that, she didn't feel neglected, and even on days when my husband's leave ended and it was just me and the two kids, she has been a great help as a little mommy.

My sense of camaraderie with my husband has also increased.

If I had gone back to my parents' home for the birth, the wife's childcare skills would have improved while the husband's sense of helplessness increased, leading to thoughts like, "I'm no good anyway," and a loss of motivation. I think that could have happened, but it was good that we were on the same starting line as a couple, like opening staff.

Everything that happened was a first (I had forgotten almost everything about childcare after 6 years). The panic when the baby spit up, the joy when it looked like he smiled for the first time, the struggle when he wouldn't burp—we shared every emotion and walked through it together.

During my husband's paternity leave, I also asked him to take on "cooking," which he had barely done before. By handling all the housework, he seemed to notice, if only a little, the existence of "nameless chores."

Shortly after giving birth, when I was still living a life where I was practically bedridden, my husband would pick up our daughter from daycare, come home, and make dinner while looking after her. When he casually said, "Doing this every day after work is tough, isn't it?" I almost burst into tears.

Even if he couldn't lend a hand, just being empathized with and appreciated is healing.

Now, there are fewer "tasks that only one of us can do" in our home, and we can flexibly swap roles depending on the situation. Because solo parenting with no backup is truly exhausting.

Did my husband's work see any positive impact? When I asked him, he mentioned "generalizing work" as the biggest one. It means making his work "in a state where anyone can do it."

Unless it's a planned birth, a baby comes into the world suddenly one day. My husband spent about a month before the due date building a system where it would be fine whenever he started his paternity leave.

While there is a risk of having your work taken by someone else, by handing over his work, my husband is now striving in a new role he had hoped for after returning. For the company, it might be an opportunity to accumulate business know-how and have employees take on new challenges.

Our family motto is "Let's stay all smiles." Neither work nor home life can function without family cooperation.