By Grace Sailor
While browsing a popular newspaper, I ran across an article entitled: “Dads work more than other men.” The article reveals that fathers with children at home put in around 47 hours a week at work, compared with 44 hours for men who either don’t have children or don’t live with them, or whose kids are older than 18. And 42% of the dads with kids under 18 at home work an average 50 or more hours a week; only 33% of the other men work such hours. As the current economic climate has increased monetary concerns among families, the article points out that “men are working longer to bring in more money for their families.”
I agree with one of the quoted experts: “They [fathers] feel a very deep and abiding responsibility to take care of their families,” and that the “the father’s identity as breadwinner is so ingrained in who they are.” (Kathleen Christensen, director of the Workplace, Workforce and Working Families Program at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation)
I love the image of a dad committed to his family and providing for their well being!
I imagine that most parents, if not all, struggle with having enough quality family time. As fathers work longer hours to support their families, parents may need to be more deliberate and creative in finding quality family time. In our families search for fun family ideas, I found some creative ideas online. One website article I came across entitled, 10 Ideas For Spending Quality Family Time, may have some activities that your family would enjoy.
British billionaire, Phillip Green, said, “It’s all about quality of life and finding a happy balance between work and friends and family.” In my experience, if we do not control our time, our time will control us. That is why our family is trying to have the best summer possible by carving out time specifically for fun family time – I would challenge your family to do the same.