Mandy Oaklander | October 10, 2026

A baby's earliest months are stressful, happy, and chaotic. They're also a huge opportunity for social, emotional, and cognitive growth. A key way to promote a baby's development turns out to be through paternity leave, writes clinical psychologist Alvin Thomas in a new essay for TIME.

TODAY’S TOPICS

How paternity leave gives babies a boost
A doctor’s home-grown salad garden
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SATURDAY READ

Paternity leave is more than a perk. It builds a baby’s brain

By Alvin Thomas

svetikd—Getty Images

We often treat paternity leave like a company perk—something HR lists next to the gym stipend and the 401k match. The research says we are wrong about that categorization. Paternity leave should be part of routine medical care during this stage of life: interventions we already agree are worth investing in because the return on investment continues years later in a child’s brain.

The U.S. is one of the only wealthy nations on Earth with no federal guarantee of paid paternity leave. The data on the impact of those first months on a child’s brain suggest we have been treating a critical developmental window like a scheduling inconvenience.

Employers and employees basically agree on a need to strive for work-life balance. And while the gender equity argument is used to both advance and stymie conversations about paternity leave, it is more than a values fight. It turns out that paternity leave and a father’s engagement during infancy is associated with better cognitive, social, and emotional regulation outcomes for the child that can be measured.

Read the full essay here.

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AT HOME WITH AN EXPERT

Inside a doctor’s at-home salad garden

Dr. Frank Dumont’s version of grabbing lunch involves picking it first. The internist and executive medical director at Virta Health, a virtual clinic, grows 36 plants at a time in an indoor hydroponic garden, including several varieties of lettuce and herbs like basil and dill. Having greens on hand has made salads the centerpiece of most of his lunches and dinners. “I pick what I need right when I need it,” he says. His usual bowl combines lettuce with chicken, turkey, or salmon, a little cheese, and olive oil and vinegar.

Upkeep is lighter than you might expect: Dumont says he adds water and nutrients weekly, periodically wipes down the stand, and takes it apart for a thorough cleaning twice a year. Built-in lights with timers and good water circulation help keep the work manageable. “For those wanting to dabble, there are smaller units and even countertop versions,” he says. —Angela Haupt, Editor, Health & Wellness

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