On the surface, new proposals by the government about new rights for fathers to take up to six months' paternity leave - three paid - seems all nice and rosy as currently, Dads are only entitled to two weeks paid leave.

Coming into force from April 2011, the time off can be taken during the second half of a baby's first year if the mother returns to the workplace.

The plans were outlined by Gordon Brown in September who said they were about "giving couples more freedom, dads more rights and children more time with the two people who love them most".

However, the Government has conceded that take-up is likely to be low, with less than one in 16 fathers expected to leave work for a period of full-time childcare which of course is bound to be the case. Without being sexist - most Dads are still the major breadwinner in most house-holds so few will be able to afford going onto statutory pay for 3 months.

Ministers have reassured small businesses that the impact will be minimal, with less than 1% expected to be affected by the changes and I would imagine this will be the case. A step in the right direction I guess....