Kenyan parents are turning green en masse after it emerged that new family law adopted in Finland has changed how long both parents can stay at home and get child care benefits.

According to the Finnish law, both the mother and the father are entitled to the same period of parental leave while receiving their childcare allowance for 160 days each.

In that regard, both parents can now stay at home with their newborn baby for close to 14 months, with a parent now permitted to transfer up to 63 reference days to the other.

Hanna Sarkkinen, Minister of Social Affairs, says the change will uplift the status of women in the Finland labour market while allowing fathers to spend more time with their babies.

Pregnancy. PHOTO/POSED BY MODELS

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Before the key reform, maternity leave in the European nation comprised of a maternity allowance which could be drawn for only 105 days from the date of birth of a new baby.

Similarly, Finnish fathers were only entitled to paternity leave for only 54 days, while only one parent or both jointly were permitted to claim child allowance for a total of 158 days.

Pregnancy. PHOTO/POSED BY MODELS

In Kenya, female workers are entitled to a fully paid maternity leave of three months, according to Section 29 of the Constitution, with the worker not losing their annual leave.

Male workers in Kenya, on the other hand are only entitle to 14 days of paternity leave, inclusive of weekends, which makes many Kenyan parents to envy the new Finish reform.