Dad's Turn: How to Cope when Mom's Not Around

ABOUT THE BOOK

Moms, for the most part, have become multitasking masters. Evidence from a recent study in the American Sociological Review supports this claim; the study, conducted by researchers from Bar-Ilan University in Israel and Michigan State University, discovered that moms multitask, on average, 10 hours per week more than their male parental counterparts and this is in addition to either a full- or part-time job.

But what happens when Moms not around? Im not talking about when tragedy strikes what if Mom has gone on a trip, gone back to work, or taken up a new hobby that takes her out of the house more frequently than not? Whether you have one or several children, parenting is a challenge, and mothers often bear the brunt of the workload; studies continue to show that mothers are still carrying the majority of household responsibilities.

As such, the fathers may feel a little lost if not completely overwhelmed when it comes to parenting solo. Then, when fathers hear their partners telling the kids, Remember to listen to Dad, or Dont forget to brush your teeth, they may wonder, Does she think Im incompetent? Theyre my kids too. Of course theyre going to listen. This can cause some resentment which may, in turn, get passed on to the kids in the form of frustration or impatience.

Its important for fathers to understand how to take better control of the family situation and household when their wives are temporarily out of the picture. Staying at home to take care of the kids is not, as some men have kidded with their friends, a holiday; in some countries, men are required to take that time, otherwise the family loses some of those coveted subsidies that many countries dole out now for day care and other childcare needs. With those trends growing from country to country, and in an economy where it may be necessary or beneficial for the father to stay home, its helpful if not completely necessary for Dad to prepare for time alone with his kids.

MEET THE AUTHOR

Christina an Ontario English teacher with a great passion for American literature in particular and the written word in general. Her two daughters, aged 3 and 7, also seem to have a love of books, as her 7 year old just started reading Tom Sawyer herself. Christina follows global events as closely as she can but also enjoys entertainment news. Currently, she is working towards a black belt in karate.

EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK

Its hard to remember the most important thing when youre in the thick of parenting, but know this: youre on their schedule now. That said, dont be surprised if everything goes a little off the rails for the first little bit when youre home alone. Life will not run with military efficiency down to the last nanosecond. Kids get sick; homework or lunches get forgotten; crises of minor and major proportions abound every twenty minutes or so. Thats perfectly normal.

Brian Hershberg decided to stay home for a week while his wife went on a six-day business trip to Barcelona, seeing it as an opportunity to see what his wife, who works full-time, went through on a daily basis in raising their seven-year-old son, Noah. He was a bit chagrined to realize that he needed a tip sheet to simply make it through Noahs schedule and feeding inclinations on any given day. He also saw his blog, Diary of a Tiger Father on Juggle, published on wsj.com.

Strangely enough, this is fairly common for most households: the mother is generally the parent who does the majority of the running around, while the father fills in on some of the in-between time.