Thank you for that question.
When I think about maternity leave and I think of moms at home with their children, if we could go back to the basics and think about the value of what the children are receiving by being home longer with their mom...who has no stress, first of all. Once the children get out and they start in kindergarten, I think they're probably way more ready to face new friends and be more confident if we allow moms at home to feel like they are fully with their children and they do not have to worry about time and finances.
Think about all the things that are affecting youth today—mental health, peer pressure and all these things—and now go back to the value of what happened when children were raised by a mom and a dad who had no worries. Family was the most important. I think the value of family has to be elevated to way more than what it is now, because parents, right now, are pressured. Some are actually working two or three jobs, and they don't get to spend as much time at home as they need to. Something has to give.
I've often said that if you go back to the basics and start thinking about it simplistically, sometimes a light bulb will come on and you'll think, “You know, we've been working so hard on other issues that we didn't even see it, and it was clearly in front of our face.” I think this is one of those topics.