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Quantity vs. Quality: Which is Best for the Busy Dad and Child?
Busy parents may often find themselves having a hard time when it comes to spending time with their children. Even
worse, parents may feel that they are spending a good amount of time with their children but not really doing much
to establish a bond with the child. When a busy father is trying to spend time with their child they may often find
themselves feeling that they can either spend a good amount of ‘empty’ time with their child or they can spend a
relatively smaller amount of time with their child doing something that is very significant of spending quality
time with their offspring. The truth of the matter is, there is no real way to determine whether a busy father is
better of fspending quality time or more quantities of time. The key lies in: finding a comfortable area of
moderation between the two.
It is nearly impossible for a busy father to factor in lots of nothing time with their child. Even putting a child
to bed is something that makes the child feel close to their parent. As busy as fathers can be, there is often at
least one night that they have available to put their child or children to bed. However, it will be important for
the busy father to see the importance in this otherwise simplified or potentially mundane task. Putting children to
bed may seem like a repetitious or “quantity” categorized task, but with the right amount of effort it can easily
be transitioned to a quality categorized task. Most tasks can be considered quantity tasks on the part of the busy
father, but it is up to this dad to make the best of the situation with their child and to try to turn the event
into something meaningful.
On the other hand, it is very important that even the busiest of fathers not hold off on spending time with their
child or children just to do something monumental in terms of quality once or twice a month. If a father acts in
this manner, the child may not feel that they can rely on their father for help when it comes to day-to-day tasks.
Even though the point of such time together may be to instill in the child a sense of family unity, it can be very
difficult for the child to feel this way when they rarely see their father. It can also potentially cause the child
to resent the father.
Since the key on the part of the father should be to help the child to feel comfortable with the father, it is
important that the father act in ways that will let the child know that the father is there for the child, even
when the father is busy. This does not mean that the father needs to be like Superman and be able to control the
world, but rather that the father has priorities and that while his day to day business is essentially and valuable
to the family, the family is the reason that he works as hard as he does – in order to provide for them. Children
need to know that they are the reason for their father’s more hurried lifestyle and that the father does see them
as paramount in his life.
Remember, fathers, it is more important to find a balance than to define your life as either hanging out with your
child a lot filling in empty time, or hanging out with your child rarely but accomplishing a great deal (at least
in your mind). Moderation is essential!
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