|
RESOURCES BY SUBJECT
l FTF LIBRARY
Parenting
From Wall Street to Sesame Street
Ron
J. Clark, MPP
Director
of Community-based Programming
National
Fatherhood Initiative
In our fast pace culture, it is common for
parents to feel a very limited connection to their children. With
workplace commitments, community involvement activities, and even
responsibilities at places of worship, many parents and children
sense that their relationship is often strained for time and lacks
depth.
And so the story goes for dads--one day we
realize that while we have gained the accolades of success from our
employer, the community, and even our place of worship, the reality
is not the same at home. No
amount of success outside the home can compensate for failure in the
home. Many dads are really trying to juggle it all and make
it all happen; however, this requires support and tools .
Here are a few tips to help you stay connected
to your children and maintain your responsibilities in a busy and
fast paced world:
- Send
text messages to your children often throughout the day to let
them know that you are thinking about them
- Send
pictures (via text cell phone, email, or postcard) of your
travel location to your child(ren) when you are on a business
trips
- Plant
surprise notes under the pillow(s) of your child(ren)
- Initiate
a special weekly or monthly family time where each child
alternates in deciding the activity and meal for the designated
time period
- On
occasion, initiate spontaneous family time events such as going
out for pancakes on a school night or an early weekend morning
- Place
special notes in your child’s lunch box or container when and
where possible
- Place
a special note in your child’s locker at school when and where
possible
\
- Draw
a special picture for your child(ren) regardless of your talent
(It’s your love and effort that matters and not your talent)
- Make
birthdays very special with the entire day being devoted to the
birthday child and go through great effort to plan this day as a
family
- Look
for ways to improve your parenting knowledge and skills. You can
visit National Fatherhood Initiative’s on-line resource center
at www.fathersource.org to find great skill-building tools for
dads
.
Our time to directly impact the lives of our children
is limited. The eighteen years go by so quickly. As we live in this
world of technological upgrade, let’s make a decision to upgrade
our relationship with our children. Success on Wall Street and
Sesame Street are possible if we just assess our priorities and make
every moment at home count.
Ron Clark is working with the National
Fatherhood Initiative.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This e-newsletter contains
copyrighted material the use of
which has not always been specifically authorized by the
copyright owner. We
make such material available in our efforts to advance
understanding of
marriage, family, couples, divorce, legislation, family
breakdown, etc. We
understand this constitutes a 'fair use' of such material as
provided
for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance
with Title 17
U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed
without profit
to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving
the included
information for research and educational purposes. For more
information go
to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.
If you wish to use
copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own
that go beyond
'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright
owner.
|
