Fathers benefit from improved policies on paid leave and child tax credit
When I was 24 years old, I won a Super Bowl. While sidelined with a knee injury, it was nonetheless the fruit of decades worth of sacrifice, teamwork and perseverance, for all of us.
As the confetti fell I tried to fathom our arrival at the zenith of the sport. But later that year, I married my wife Kirsten and realized that, unlike sport’s fleeting glory, we were embarking on a journey that would last a lifetime. And then, when I held my first child in my arms, I understood the privilege of fatherhood and the responsibility of caring for human life.
God has blessed me with seven incredible children and a wife of 20 years who has walked with me through the chaotic seasons of parenting. No stat, no big catch, no winning streak comes close to the home we are building together.
Fathers are designed to show up for their families
Too often, we see manhood and fatherhood misunderstood or discarded altogether. Some of that’s on us as men, for the ways we’ve failed. We back away, abdicating our responsibility. Rarely observing it, our culture has forgotten what true, godly manhood looks like, believing instead the age-old lie that our voices and our presence are unnecessary.
Despite our habits, we are designed to show up for our wives, our girlfriends, the mothers of our children. When we get it right, as protectors, providers, as servants and shepherds, our families and our communities flourish. Policies should support what’s in the public interest.
That’s why I’ve partnered with the Blueprint for Life Coalition to support strengthening the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Paid Family Leave, so families have more resources to thrive. Recently, Congress took necessary first steps to reinforce these policies.
Scripture centers the family as the bedrock of a strong society, where we nurture our most precious gifts and transmit human capital to the next generation. We are called toward this journey of providence, our standard, to lead with strength, humility and courage. It is undoubtedly how we best ensure justice and love for all, yet humanity does so imperfectly.
Unplanned pregnancies, poverty, broken systems, addiction, and pride drive men away from their sacred calling toward selfishness and push couples toward abortion. If life truly is our most precious gift — and it is — then we have a sacred duty to protect, nurture and honor it. In the face of adversity, we have a choice to make. As one of my coaches would admonish, we must “do our job.”
How Congress changed child tax credit and paid leave
Raising kids isn’t easy, or cheap. To help families, Congress just raised the CTC from $2,000 to $2,200 per child and required it to increase annually with inflation. That’s more than numbers — it’s a statement that we value the hard work of parenting, enough to permanently enshrine it in the tax code. It’s diapers, groceries, rent and a small way we can tell struggling families: we see you and you’re not alone.
Another helpful tool for young parents is Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) — not just for white-collar managers in Buckhead, but for retail workers, restaurant crews, and small business employees in South Fulton, Macon and Columbus.
Congress has also just expanded and made permanent “45S,” an Employer Tax Credit (ETC) for businesses that offer their employees PFML. It will encourage more companies to give their employees paid time off to bond with a new baby or care for a loved one. That time is priceless. It’s when fathers can pass on better values and build trust, and learn that being a father isn’t just about biology, it’s about commitment.
Check your own employer’s paid leave policy, and make sure they know about 45S.
Expanding health and child care programs benefits families
Restoring hope begins in the mirror. Too often, young men think children are an obstacle to their goals. But I’ve lived and seen the opposite.
There’s no prouder achievement than being a husband and a father. And there’s no better investment our government can make than one that rewards men who follow the righteous path and show up for their families.
Congress just made the right choice that bit easier. These changes will help more fathers suit up for the most critical team they’ll ever play on.
Undoubtedly there is even more they can do to provide a holistic approach to empowering parents, like strengthening and expanding existing health care programs, supporting pregnancy centers and increasing access to child care.
Taken together, these kinds of policies can change lives. They show that every child, born or preborn, is wanted, cherished, and deeply loved.
Benjamin Watson is a former NFL player, Georgia Bulldog alumnus, author of several books, including “The New Fight for Life: Roe, Race and a Pro Life Commitment to Justice,” and host of the “Just Life” Podcast.
