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The Involved Dad
5 Commandments for Today's Family Man
By Gregory Keer
My son used to hover around my home office, waiting to play with me at my work cut-off time. After a couple of days of doing that, he stopped waiting and went to his room to play alone. When I was ready for him, he told me, "Daddy, I want privacy. Shut the door." That hurt. Now, I try to put work on hold and play with him, rather than miss my opportunities.
Keep your promise to your kid and you won't regret it. You can always catch up with the client after bedtime or schedule another time to follow up. Let modern technology (e-mails and faxes) work overtime for you and help keep your kids happy.
Roll with the punches. If you yell at them or come home late, don't write yourself off for long. Get back on track because you'll get a lot of extra chances.
I go through periods where I raise my voice to my kids too often at night. I feel awful, but I do it because I'm out of control. Rather than not deal with them and their frustrating bedtime ways, I work on my expecations and approaches, tinkering every night. I also accept small victories – I'm happy for the nights I don't yell and even happier for the nights they do almost everything I ask.