what do childfree/childless people get instead of "parental leave?"

[REP]

392. No kidding (so to speak)

The FMLA is one of the best things that ever happened to American workers - with or without children, married, single or living with an SO. I'm always surprised that people don't know it applies to them, when they get sick, or when a family member does and needs care (or even a ride to a procedure that requires sedation).

You know I'm about as militantly Childfree as it's possible to be - I've been sterilized twice, for fucks sake - and that is perhaps why I have no delusions that maternal/paternal leave after the birth of a child is some sort of luxurious vacation. No matter how happy someone is about the birth of a child, and even if there is no PPD, no tearing from birth to recover from, etc - taking care of a newborn is exhausting. Additionally, even though I find infants uninteresting, they're still helpless human beings and need round-the-clock care, and their parents are the best people (usually) to provide them that care.

I see posts like this as yet another worthless attempt to pit worker v worker and women v women. That's just playing into the hands of the real enemies, which are unreasonable working conditions and employers. Why do we just accept that workers - all workers - get so little time off? That we're being worked longer and harder for less money and fewer benefits? That's worth getting pissed off about, not that a post-partum woman gets to take some time to recover and care for her infant.