Are you doing your ‘fair share’ at home?
1,200 married moms were polled about their parenting habits, focusing on how they share responsibilities with their spouses. The headline was an attention-grabber: “Working and Stay-at-Home Mothers Feel Like ‘Married Single Moms.'”
“Dear Daddy” Video: A Priority Wake-Up Call
Imagine that today you're reading a letter from your child, only it's ten or fifteen years in the future and your child is a young adult. What would he or she write to you? If you had the benefit of those insights about your relationship, would it change anything you do as a father today?
5 Daily Steps to Balance Work and Family
In today's world, one of the most common and urgent needs among fathers is tips for managing their time. The ability to do this is a key to success at work and with your family, and the beginning of a new year might be a great time to start some new habits in this area.
“Fatherhood Comes First” says Super Bowl Coach
Super Bowl XLIII-winning head coach Mike Tomlin wrote a commentary called "Fatherhood Comes First, Then the Game" in USA Today for the Friday before the big game.
How Much Time Do You Have Left with Your Kids?
What did I do with the opportunities I had to connect with my child, demonstrate love, show encouragement, and teach him about life?
Interchangeable Parts, Irreplaceable Fathers
My brother-in-law Mark lost his job last week. Like any other weekday, he arrived at his office at 8:25 am, likely scanning his Blackberry on his walk across the parking lot to see what his busy schedule held for him. But instead of a day filled with meetings and customer calls, he was promptly ushered into a conference room, sat down by an HR rep, and summarily laid off. Thanks much, but we just don’t need you anymore.
Time: Are You Spending or Investing?
As dads, we choose how to invest every minute of our time, and our children are clearly one of the highest-yield investments.
A Commitment to Give More to Family
Cameron Stracher is a busy working dad. He's a law professor in New York who also does legal work, with a long commute to and from work every day. Several years ago, he found himself feeling "over-extended, over-committed and physically exhausted," and very out-of-touch with his family.
How is your job impacting your fathering?
A recent survey by CareerBuilder confirms the challenge among working dads to navigate the demands of work and family life. According to the survey, 38% of working dads, if given the choice, would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids. Nearly one in four working dads (24 percent) feel work is negatively impacting their relationship with their children. Forty-eight percent have missed a significant event in their child's life due to work at least once in the last year, and nearly one in five (18 percent) have missed four or more. Thirty-six percent of working dads say their company does not offer family-friendly work arrangements such as flexible schedules, telecommuting, job sharing and more.
Dads on the Road
For many dads, the challenging task of fathering is made even more difficult because we spend so much time traveling. If you're like me, there are times when your job demands that you be in Chicago tomorrow, and out on the west coast by next Tuesday. There's no getting around it.