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21st Century Dads
Today's Fathers Are Taking on a Bigger Parenting Role
This is what happened to Bill Taussig, of Needham, Mass., whose parents had a traditional arrangement. "My father was not involved in parenting and, as a result, neither I nor my three siblings ever developed much of a close relationship with him," he says.
Taussig just set up a four-day-a-week arrangement as an attorney at Fidelity Investments in Boston. While waiting on final approval from his manager, he's hopeful that his request will be approved. With his wife expecting their third child in August, they decided it made sense for him to reduce his schedule rather than his wife reducing hers further or one of them staying home full time. He also wanted to be more involved with the schools and help out more with managing the family's activities.
Peter Steinberg is another "enlightened" dad. A stay-at-home dad in Springfield, Va., Steinberg quit his job when his children were 4 or 5. Before he quit, his family life was stressful. "Between working, going to school, parenting two young children, we had no time to breathe," Steinberg says. "Our weekends were spent trying to do all those chores that needed to get done. If one of our children got sick, we literally negotiated who can and was able to stay home from work."
One day, Steinberg's daughter asked why he worked. He wanted to say something profound, but the only thing that came out was "to pay for your daycare." After another incident, Steinberg did some deep thinking, talked to a few people and decided to quit his job. He and his wife had long talks before deciding and even drafted a contract, which lays out their expectations of each other in their new roles.
