I’m a dad and a gig worker. I had no choice but to keep working with a newborn

As politicians argue over paternity leave, even four paid weeks off would have made a huge difference for workers like me

Nine months ago I was not yet a bleary-eyed dad juggling work and two baby boys, but I did know a second baby was imminent. What should've been a happy milestone was quickly blunted by a boomeranging lament - that there would be no taking any paid parental leave for me, a gig worker.

When my first was born, just before the pandemic, I was a freelance writer in the throes of an MFA program. My wife decided it was more cost-effective to stay home with our son than return to work; soon after Covid forced everyone inside, local daycare options vanished.