(Pic: what a lovely note from my children!)
Key takeaways:
– spending time with your children and build a strong bonding
– build up daily routines so children know what to follow
– just relax and don’t worry too much about cleaning (but you do need do cleaning)!
First of all, I’m not a single parent.
My wife’s grandma is over 90 and we are worried that her time is not much left. I encouraged my wife to take a ‘leave’ so she could spend some quality time with her grandma. My wife was worried that I couldn’t handle kids while she was away, but I reassured her that I can! So, she took a 6-week break and visited her grandma overseas.
I admit that I am not a perfect Dad, but I have tried to do my share in terms of my time spending home. We have a good routien for our kids in terms of activities they do after school on weekdays and when they get to have iPads and video games (otherwise, they will argue with you every night!).
While wife was away, I cooked dinners almost every night. Don’t be surprised; I love cooking but I also admit that my wife has taken the role since we got married. The best way to spend time with kids is to do things with them. So, we cooked together, we did homeworks together, we watched TV together, we did grocery shopping together and we also did landary together. I am a parent of my kids and I am not their servants.
Time flew. I was busy at the university, teaching and researching during that 6-week period. Just before my wife’s returning, my daughter wrote me a little note and thanked me for being such a good ‘mum’! It was touching, very touching especially hearing that from my children.
A strong bonding with family makes us feeling secured and supported. It’s this feeling that comforts us every day so we always long for going home after a long day at work. Spend time with you children so you get to know them better and they also get to know you better as a parent.
Dr. Richard C. Wu @ ReeaConsulting.com
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