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Being a Daddy & Livin' the Dream
By J Gardener
A few years ago (it seems like a lifetime ago, now) you were in your prime,
physically and personally. You and your wife wanted a family, so you figured,
it's now or never, right? You were in your prime, professionally, too, climbing
that career ladder surely and steadily. Soon enough, it was 2.2 kids and a great
job with a future-you were livin' the dream.
One child's a toddler now, the other just started first-grade, your wife's
fantasizing about getting back to her career-and you've just been handed the
reins of your company's BIG PROJECT, a major step on the way to the fabled Land
of the Corner Office. You have to prove yourself to the boss, with results and
enthusiasm, so these days you're at work by seven, surviving on fast-food and
coffee, and you're not home again until the kids are in bed.
Being a sensitive, twenty-first century guy, you realize, with some guilt,
that your wife is quietly going mad-being on call, 24/7-and your kids are
growing up, with ever dimming memories of the man who they used to know as their
father. Livin' the dream.
In such a competitive world, parents are often torn by the choices that have
to be made, between career and family. And-like it or not-on average, men still
make more of the family income than their wives. So, despite the changes in the
way parenting is approached by today's families, it's often the father who wins
the designation as the family breadwinner. It doesn't mean you have to be a
blank spot in your childrens' lives.
Study after study has shown that children benefit from a father's influence.
Kids who have close father relationships tend to be more confident when
approaching issues which require problem-solving. Overall, they're less
intimidated by difficult schoolwork, and less intimidated by difficulties in
interpersonal relationships with friends-or bullies.
Children who are close to their fathers tend to be more active, physically;
fathers tend to play action games with them, more often than mothers do-and the
games are less predictable, which helps hold children's interest longer.
The list of benefits goes on and on. So how do you balance your life with
your childrens' needs? The first step is to acknowledge the need to be present
in your childrens' lives, then explore ways to make it happen.
Your career may not permit you to be home every night by suppertime, but it
shouldn't require you to be gone every hour of every day that your children are
awake.
Many top companies today are starting to recognize the value of their
employees' family life, and the resulting beneficial effects to productivity. An
employee with a stable and rewarding family life is happier and less distracted
at work. If your company expects a sixty-hour a week commitment from you for the
next thirty years, it's probably time to look at a career change.
When you must work constantly, for temporary bursts, find ways to connect to
your kids, even if you can't see them. Drop notes into their lunch bags in the
morning, telling them how much you love them. Call them, during the day, when
you have a spare five minutes; ask them about their day and their feelings. No
matter how late you get home, kiss them goodnight. They might wake up for a
minute, but it's worth it to them to know that you're real, and that you love
them.
Livin' the dream is hard work. Don't forget that your family is the most
important part of that dream. About the Author Brought to you by Imaginary Greetings, a regular contributor of valuable family oriented content. For additional tips on how to truly light up your child's eyes this holiday season like never before with personalized letters from Santa Claus.
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