When surveyed, dads overwhelmingly say that they would prefer to share childcare and housework relatively equally with their spouses, and would prefer to use flexibility and parental leave to better balance work and family. However, the data show that while men have made significant progress on both fronts, our actions do not match our intentions–leaving us more “locked into” work and less involved at home than we’d like. I was lucky that my career, employer flexibility and f

Amy and Nick are spending the week out in California, visiting her brother and his family. Because my semester starts next week, I had to stay home to ramp up my class preparation and attend too many meetings. Home alone… This means I am in the middle of a week with pretty much no family responsibilities or time constraints. As I most often write about balancing fatherhood with work and other life roles, I am finding this family-free time to be an interesting experiment. Here

This infographic with statistics compiled by the White House for the Working Fathers Summit, makes a compelling case of the importance of working dads’ issues. (click to see full graphic) They say a picture is worth a thousand words. Even moreso for this awesome infographic that the White House issued as a lead-up to the recent Summit on Working Fathers and Summit on Working Families (I am proud to be a participant in both of these efforts). To me, this graphic reinforces thr

Our kids may want things, but they NEED time with their fathers more. This Christmas, instead of stuff, we should give our kids the opportunities to do more fun things with us. Here are a few ideas how. Christmas is a special time for kids, but we can also use it as a way to build in more dad-and-kid time throughout the year A while ago, I wrote a piece (the most popular FWF post of 2013) in which I asked a bunch of dads how they want their kids to remember their dads and chi

How do you explain to a 5 year old boy that you can’t afford what his friends have because you’ve prioritized family time over financial rewards? Here’s one dad’s story. This is a guest post by Aaron Gouveia that originally appeared at his blog, DaddyFiles.com on July 8th, 2013. Guest blogger Aaron Gouveia of Daddyfiles.com What good is a fancy car if you only drive it to the office and back? What’s the point of buying your kids all the best toys if you’re not there to play a

Today, I’ll be traveling to the Academy of Management conference (On Monday, I’ll be presenting about, what else, Fathers’ Work-Family Issues, and will be attending sessions, networking, etc. throughout the weekend). So instead of a new post today, I’m sharing my compilation of the blog’s greatest hits. Who’s greatest hits? …Well, mine! Here is a Whitman’s Sampler of my favorite posts from the past year or so, along with the most read, liked and widely shared content from FWF

“Downshifters” are those who eschew the career ladder and choose alternative paths that open up more time for family or other pursuits. For many, the trade-off is more than worth it. This article discusses 5 common types of downshifting. “The problem with winning the rat race is… you’re still a rat” –Lily Tomlin For me, plateauing my career opens up more time for family. When we think about career paths, we often think about climbing the ladder- stepping up our career one run

“When your kids become adults, how do you want them to remember their childhoods with you?” Almost all fathers want to be remembered as being a consistent positive presence in their children’s lives. Making this happen requires aligning our actions with our priorities. I hope Nick can look back on his childhood and know that I was there for him (just like I can look back on my childhood with my dad) Modern Dad Workshops John Badalament is a true pioneer in work-family issues

In its June 4th “Room For Debate“, the New York Times insulted fathers by questioning their purpose, role and potential contribution to families. My rebuttal to the very question, and my commentary on the contributors’ writings. Dear New York Times- SMH. I expect more from the “Newspaper of Record” The New York Times questions whether fathers have a role in modern families. Really? I don’t know where to begin. After a week in which I was so encouraged by the mostly positive m

“The most important thing a father can do for his children is love their mother” – Theodore Hesburgh This quote gave me the idea for a collective Mother’s day card from a great group of Dad Bloggers , of which I am proud to be a part, to the moms in our lives. So here are our collected mother’s day wishes: Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful wife, Amy!!! Scott Behson. Fathers, Work and Family blog. www.fathersworkandfamily.com You know how revved up Nick gets on nights you com

(or, The Dangers of Valuing Money More than People) Mark Promislo is a husband, father of two young girls, and a management professor at Rider University (and a friend, but most importantly an active blog reader and commenter!), who recently authored a great study on the effects of materialism on work-family conflict. I asked him a few questions about his life, his work, and his study– which I think has implications for working dads. Mark’s research shows the negative effects

Smartphones- Time Suck to Avoid #3 (or, I’m Going To Texting From DisneyLand!!!) While checking work emails on my phone, I almost missed out on this! My family and I flew down to Disney World the first week of January. We’re a Disney family and love being in the happiest place on Earth. The first week in January is a very slow work time for me- it is just after the holidays and still two weeks from the beginning of the spring semester. I am filling in for our department chair

This is a guest post written by Theron Bostic, and it originally appeared on his excellent blog Active Duty Dad. Theron is active-duty US military and an involved father of three. Our guest bogger, Theron Bostic, runs the great Active Duty Dad blog and is one of America’s heroes. FWF is focused on helping fathers balance work and family, but I can’t imagine a tougher challenge to achieving this than being in our armed services. Between long deployments, forced moves, intense

A few years ago, I was in a big, fat stinking hurry for some thing that I am sure I thought was important at the time. Nick was just old enough to get his coat, hat, gloves and shoes on by himself, and I needed him to do so quickly or else we’d be late for the thing that was soooo super-important that now I can’t even remember what it was. Thanks to Nick struggling to put on his winter coat, I learned a valuable lesson that helped me be a better father- and be more effective

I’ll be back on Friday with a note of gratitude, a Chrsitmas post, and some FWF milestones! In the meantime, here’s an awesome guest piece by my good friend, Neil. Bizarro World A guest post by Neil Cohen. This article originally appeared at Neil’s blog, Man on Third, which I highly recommend. Our guest blogger, Neil and his boy Alex During the Thanksgiving break, I took my son Alex to a place called CuriOdyssey, which is a small “children’s museum”/zoo type of place with a n

First off, a very happy holiday weekend to all my friends and readers. Among the many things I am thankful for- family, friends, health- I am also so grateful for all of your help in making the launch of Fathers, Work and Family a success (3000+ page views, 64 followers, Good Men Project, etc.). While I’m carving the turkey, I’m handing over the reins to the father of FWF, my Dad, Joe Behson. It is my fervent wish that, as we grow older, Nick and I can have a relationship as

Michael Lewis may be the best non-fiction writer working today.  From his business-related books (Boomerang, Liar’s Poker, The Big Short) to sports-related books (Moneyball, Blind Side; both GREAT books but WAY over-rated movies), he always nails his subject with both intelligence and humor. Michael Lewis’ memoir on fatherhood, “Home Game” contains his typical wit and wisdom While introducing his highly-recommended memoir, “Home Game: An Accidental Guide to Fatherhood”, Lewis

This article was republished at the Good Men Project online men’s magazine.  Follow this link to the article. It was also republished at the Dads Round Table. Poet David Whyte wrote a great book, “The Heart Aroused: Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America” aimed at helping people find meaning and balance in their careers (and here I thought poets just lived in their mom’s basements while pulling a few shifts at a hipster coffee shop).  There is a one-line

I am very grateful that, in the first month and a half of FWFblog, we’ve built a readership and community.  According to WordPress.com’s site statistics, FWF is at over 2000 page views- that’s over 130 views per post.  Thank you for coming to the blog, and especially for coming back. But I’m not satisfied with a small but growing active readership- I want world domination! a large and growing active readership! Maybe this cute picture of me and Nicky will persuade you to supp

This article was republished at the Good Men Project online men’s magazine.  Follow this link to the article. Time Suck– (n) Something that’s engrossing and addictive, but that keeps you from doing things that are actually important, like earning a living, or eating meals, or caring for your children. (from UrbanDictionary.com) Is playing golf the best use of our spare time? (look what it did to Judge Smalls) Perhaps the greatest challenge we all face in being both a good pro