Georges Clees and Fiona Mike Zenari

Georges Clees and Fiona Mike Zenari

Thanks to parental leave, every Friday for 20 months, he can forget about his job as a press officer and dedicate himself entirely to his 17-month-old daughter, Fiona.

“Having one day more to spend together has really helped us bond,” the Luxembourger told Delano, adding: “I’m also fairly confident going alone with her to places, which other dads might not be if they spend less time with their kids.”

Clees said the leave was particularly handy for scheduling in doctors’ visits and vaccinations, which both he and his wife attend. “I think it’s also good she spends one day more with us from a language point of view,” Clees said, explaining that he speaks Luxembourgish to her, his wife Chinese and at Fiona’s crèche, the language is French.

He likes to spend the extra time doing activities with Fiona, such as swimming, visiting animals and meeting up with other dads and their children through the Luxembourg Daddy Facebook group, a meetup and network of dads taking parental leave in Luxembourg.