Balancing work and family responsibilities in favor of your children

In recent days, balancing work, life, and family responsibilities has been a task. How well these responsibilities are balanced directly affects our quality of life, work, and the lives of our family members. It seems women are good at multitasking but this is not easy for men.

There is also an increasing percentage of men who are neglecting their traditional roles of providing for the family which leaves women with no option but to fill the gap. They therefore take up the responsibility of family breadwinner as well as raising the children.

Looking at both working parents and the heavy workload at the workplace, there is a fondness for parents working overtime, carrying work home, some work on weekends, while others work at distant stations. Notwithstanding that other parents after work have other social engagements and networks in town, bars, or at church and return home late. This results in less time with the family and reduced time to take care of children and spouses.

Due to a lot of work, you may find that there is work-related stress, fatigue, and child neglect among others. We all love our families and would love to be available, yet we can’t survive without earning a living. There are benefits of employment which include among others: financial gains, family stability, enhanced social capital through exposure, self-esteem, children being able to access education, and health benefits among others.

However, due to heavy family workloads and family responsibilities, some mothers fail to bond with family and have low career progression among others. As a way of looking for a solution, working women balance work and family tasks by employing maids whom they constantly connect with through phone calls. We know that few institutions provide facilities like daycare and breastfeeding centres aimed at the inclusion of working women and mothers. Other workplaces/employers deny women full maternity leave of 3 months as stipulated in Uganda’s employment act.

Some men also try to juggle different projects to ensure they fend for their families, keep financially stable amidst competition, and work many hours a day. Some encroach on their family time and don’t provide quality time for their children. They live like absent parents emotionally even when they are physically present. Some children complain that their parents don’t give them time but prioritize work or projects. They don’t even involve children during implementation and supervision. Some children therefore develop poor behaviors because their parents are unavailable to monitor them. Others take advantage to go and meet their friends who eventually influence them into bad habits. It is also not easy for character development when you are a present-absent parent.

We need to rethink our parenting strategies as we juggle work, life, and family. As partners in taking care of our families, how best can we share the responsibility of raising children in a way that can prevent child neglect in families where it is happening? Never fail to take your leave days to be with your family. You can lose a job anytime and get a better one but this may not be the case with your family or a child.

As a couple, sit down and plan how to juggle the roles together. This also helps when one of you has less time at home, would like to go on further studies or business trips, etc. When you are at home, reduce your time on gadgets and give quality to your family members. Use weekends when you are fully available to be with your children so that it compensates for the busy weekdays. You don’t need to be everywhere at the expense of your family. Cut off some engagements because it is more important than some of such engagements.

Plan certain activities ahead of time and where necessary involve the children and wife. Promote effective and consistent communication with your family members. You can share your schedule with them so that they get to know when you are available and when not. In all, what we are looking at is raising children without feeling neglected.

The writer is the Executive Director of Hope Regeneration Africa, parenting coach, marriage counselor, and founder – Men of Purpose mentorship programme.