Comments on: Kids Day 2011 Definitely jealous of Sweden's paternal leave. In the US, I believe the federal law is that you get up to twelve weeks off (unpaid). I think California is the only state that actually has paid leave if you are a non-government worker. But there are a lot of exceptions and loopholes that can be used to reduce or negate this. But it can vary from company to company as well if they decide to give you additional benefits (I think Electronic Arts gave 1-2 weeks paid time off, but the studio I was at was closed before my son was born so I can't confirm this). As a father of two who were born first in the beginning of a new company and then second in a crunch, I can definitely attest that having time off to spend with your family is very precious and you should definitely take it. I have some regrets about not taking more time initially, but have worked hard to change that since. Was getting most of my info here: http://www.babycenter.com/0_paternity-leave-what-are-the-options-for-dads_8258.bc Definitely jealous of Sweden’s paternal leave. In the US, I believe the federal law is that you get up to twelve weeks off (unpaid). I think California is the only state that actually has paid leave if you are a non-government worker. But there are a lot of exceptions and loopholes that can be used to reduce or negate this. But it can vary from company to company as well if they decide to give you additional benefits (I think Electronic Arts gave 1-2 weeks paid time off, but the studio I was at was closed before my son was born so I can’t confirm this).

As a father of two who were born first in the beginning of a new company and then second in a crunch, I can definitely attest that having time off to spend with your family is very precious and you should definitely take it. I have some regrets about not taking more time initially, but have worked hard to change that since.

Was getting most of my info here: