The economy has forced a lot of people to reinvent themselves, the number of small businesses is booming, and the traditional household is changing every day. There’s no such thing as the average household anymore and that’s a good thing because people are reinventing themselves, including dads.
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The number of fathers who work from home or are stay at home fathers is increasing. Many fathers were forced to be stay-at-home dads due to the recession. Many of them were unemployed for long periods of time, so they became the stay-at-home parent or reinvented themselves and started a business working from home. The number of fathers who are at home with their children has nearly doubled since 1989.
For Latino’s this may seem as a taboo because they grew up thinking that when they have a family their job is to provide for their family. This doesn’t make you less of a man because as a stay-at-home dad you’re providing a service to your family or two if you work from home as well. One of the most difficult things for stay-at-home dads is connecting with their children.
Tips to Connect with Your Children
One of the biggest hurdles for new stay-at-home dads is connecting with their kids at a new level. Like everything being at home you have to adapt to a new routine and new lifestyle. One of the first things you have to take into consideration is learning your child’s temperament. Their temperaments can vary, but you have to learn to listen and observe, and accept the child for who they are and make them feel secure and okay with their personality and identity.
Spending all day with your children can be a stressful experience. Going from having an 8-hour job to being at home all day can also add some added stress. So, it’s important to make time with your children and do fun things with them. Set time aside to do special projects or go to the park, take interest in what they like. This can help you build a better relationship with them. Show them affection. One of the things women are great at is giving affection, kissing, hugging, complimenting their children.
Teach your children a valuable lesson. Teach them about how to handle a problem and give them advice when they’re going through a difficult situation. You’ve already been in their shoes and know how difficult it is to be a child or an adolescent. Think about what your parents did for you and learn from their mistakes or from the valuable lessons they taught you.
Being a stay-at-home dad is not easy by any means, but through communication, patience, and accepting your new role as a caregiver you can start building a great relationship with your family.
