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Home › Articles › Career and Money Management › Pressure to Provide

Pressure to Provide

Balancing the Responsibilities of Father and Husband

By Tamar Weiss

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dad and family Man's duty to provide for his family has evolved tremendously in that he is no longer the sole breadwinner in most households; yet as father and husband, his obligations may have increased. The phrase "to provide for one's family" no longer indicates an individual financial burden, but rather a monetary commitment combined with obligations as an equal partner in the duties of household, marriage and parenthood.

Eddie Foreman, a computer programmer and father of twin boys, acknowledges that at this point in his career, his "biggest pressure is not financial, but integrating work and family." Providing for the family also means just being there to take part in what goes on at home. There are only so many hours in a day and Foreman finds that although he and his wife make an effort to share family responsibilities, he is often misunderstood when it comes to the immense responsibility he has at work.

Dr. Aaron Kipnis, author of Angry Young Men: How Parents, Teachers and Educators Can Help "Bad Boys" Become Good Men and president of the Fatherhood Coalition, explains that in the United States, men still earn between 70 to 75 percent of the family income. A husband and father often sees it as his responsibility to ensure the financial well-being of his family.

Choosing Which Sacrifices to Make
Often, the sacrifices that a man makes for his family are undervalued and taken for granted as a result of the misunderstanding between husbands and wives about the individual parts that they each play in the family. "It is very important for both partners in the relationship to praise each other for the sacrifices they each make in different arenas," says Dr. Kipnis.


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