The paper provides an analysis of opinions of mothers and fathers about fathers' taking a paternity leave from work based on the study of the parents' interests, values and capabilities. The survey showed that 42% of parents support paternity leave, with the group of supporters being dominated by fathers (49.5%) and the opponents being mostly mothers (61.1%). Choosing whether to take a paternity leave depends on the extent of men's involvement in fatherhood, the quality of couple relationships, trust, efficiency and flexibility of distribution of family responsibilities, the family's social capital profile, youthfulness, openness to new experience, and commitment to the idea of equal parental responsibility for the children. Some of the external factors include the flexibility of work arrangements and stability of the parents' employment, the sufficiency of the family budget, family-friendliness of the employer, and social support of families with children. The paper discusses the advantages of paternity leave for families and social welfare in general.