'This is the time you don't get back' : NHL star Carey Price talks the importance of paternity leave
Montreal Canadiens goalie, Carey Price, is opening up about fatherhood and encouraging men to take paternity leave as part of a new game-changing campaign.
Price has teamed up with Dove Men+Care to promote the brand’s global initiative to advocate for better paternity leave policies worldwide and to remove the stigma associated with men taking time off after their children are born.
In 2016, Price experienced first-hand the benefits of being home with a newborn. Two weeks after the Canadien’s season ended, Price and his wife Angela welcomed their first child, a daughter named Liv Anniston.
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In a phone interview with Yahoo Canada Style, the 30-year-old star says the four months he was able to spend at home was an invaluable experience for his growing family.
“It was an important time for us and it’s a trying time for a new mother. It’s physically and mentally fatiguing to go through everything for the first time,” Price told Yahoo Canada. “Being there to support my wife was a big difference maker. She was breastfeeding, and having to get up every couple of hours throughout the night is a recipe for exhaustion. To be able to help out during the day and to allow her to rest whenever I could really made a difference.”
Family is the number one priority with Price, who is determined to be as involved as possible in his daughter’s developmental years, opting out of both the 2017 and 2018 World Championships to spend time with his daughter.
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According to a study commissioned by Dove Men+Care, there continues to be social stigma surrounding paternity leave in men across Canada.
The survey found that although 75 per cent of men believe that men should take equal parental leaves as women, the spouse or partner of Canadian fathers took eight times more time off to care for their child.
The findings revealed that 75 per cent of men fear that taking time off will have a negative impact on their finances, while 51 per cent revealed they were afraid that their relationships with their employers would suffer.
In talking about the campaign, Price acknowledges that his career and schedule affords him certain liberties and luxuries. However, he still believes every father or father-to-be should take time off where possible.
“I have a great platform to reach out to other men,” Price said. “All I can speak to is my experience of being a father and having the opportunity to be around to raise my child. It’s important that people understand this is time you don’t get back. Time flies, and you’ve got to take advantage of every opportunity you can.”
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