1)      Visit the beach.  Nothing will put a smile on kids’ faces like warm sunshine and constructing sand castles with their dad.

2)      Take a trip to a National Park.  Kids are always going to the movies or the mall.  Remind them of the natural beauty America has to offer by taking them to the Grand Canyon, Yosemite, or the Great Smokey Mountains.

3)      Go to a baseball game.  Take your kids out to a ballgame to enjoy the excitement of this classic American pastime.  Staff members at the Men’s Divorce Law Firm are watching the Atlanta Braves vs. Toronto Blue Jays tomorrow at Disney’s Wide World of Sports.  Check out ESPN’s website for a full spring training schedule for upcoming games.

4)      Take an RV road trip.  RV dealers will rent out vehicles at very reasonable prices.  Map out a route across the country with your family to make the planning just as fun as the trip itself.

5)      Create a backyard paradise.  Many fun activities can happen right in your backyard.  Consider turning on the sprinkler and setting up a slip n’ slide for your kids, or create a day for backyard sports.

6)      Become a master at the grill.  Spring break is a great time to try out recipes and techniques for the grill.  Let your kids help out with the safe tasks so they feel they contributed to meals, and make sure to invite the neighbors for a fun backyard social event.

7)      Start an outdoor project.  If you have enough time, consider putting up the tree house or play set your kids have always wanted.  Work on the project together to help teach your kids about the value of hard work.

8)      Volunteer in the community.  Take advantage of the time during spring break to volunteer together and give back to the community.  Let your kids help select the project and make sure to ask them what they learned from the experience at the end of the day.

9)      Visit a wacky tourist attraction.  Take your kids to some of the local tourist attractions you usually would overlook in your town.  Visit RoadSideAmerica to help pick a location, and don’t forget to bring your camera!

10)   Take a food trip.  Take a road trip that will visit some of the restaurants with the best menu offerings around town.  This way your kids will be happy and full!

The Men’s Divorce Law Firm wishes everyone a great spring break!  We encourage parents to take this time to connect with their kids and do something fun together.

To read All Pro Dad’s original article, click here.

www.MensDivorceLaw.com

Thankfully, it’s still early enough to think ahead and get some great strategies for balance in 2009.

Family Dates or Family Nights. Before the calendar gets too crammed with meetings and travel appointments, block out time for regular family time: game night, night out, or regular dinners together. Be committed and be sure to let the kids see you’re taking time with/for mom too.

Family Vacation. Get mom’s and the kids’ school schedules now and find that all-too-elusive window of opportunity for everyone to have time off together and enjoy one another.  Put it on the calendar now and guard it like a bulldog.

Set & Manage Workplace Expectations. Find ways to communicate and help your co-workers understand that your work is important to you, and so are your family commitments—and that you’re committed to holding them both in high priority without either one relegating the other to 2nd class status.

Stop Justifying. Don’t feel like you have to have a family emergency to justify spending invaluable time with your family. And stop justifying late hours spent at work to your kids. They spell love T-I-M-E, not I’m-Saving-Money-For-Your-College-Education. While that’s a crucial part of providing for you kids, you’ll never get back those years once they are grown.

Budget For The Future. Most of us work long hours because we want to provide for our family. Play with your budget and/or meet with an advisor or friend to see what you can do with a CD, Mutual Fund, or college fund while your kids are still young. Planning now will give you peace of mind about providing for your family without necessarily having to work all that overtime.

Take a Hike! Get out walking, or running with the kids at the end of the day.  This will create a great way to wind down from the day’s busyness and give mom a break to boot (if the kids are home with her all day)!  If you have a family dog, Rover will appreciate it too.  This can be wonderfully therapeutic for everyone and it makes for better winding down at bed time too.

[ Article by | Fatherhood.org ]

The study used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NSLCY) to compare the 208 families that divorced between data collection points to the 4,796 households that remained intact. The study compared nurturing, consistent and punitive parenting between the households.

The findings suggested that most parents maintained very stable parenting practices, and it was only a few parents who were overwhelmed, unable to cope, and became less nurturing, inconsistent, and punitive.

These results are extremely important because for years family courts have poured money into mandatory parenting classes for divorcing parents (called things like “putting children first”), when in fact, most parents do not need the classes. The parents that may be unable to parent consistently are the parents who need the support, but these results suggest they are the minority.

I would suggest that a post-divorce interview with the children would help identify the parents who need the support, as children are very capable of reporting what they need after divorce, and are conscious of when a parent is punitive and no longer invested in their well-being.

[ Article by Nancy Brown, Ph.D. | Healthline.com ]

So how can a father balance both without hurting his children’s feelings or letting down the boss?

To hear how some fathers are handling this issue, read the article, “Suited for fatherhood: Many choices face dads balancing family and work,” by Kristi Elliot of the Orlando Sentinel, or click the following link to read the full article, located on pages 30 and 31:

Click here to read the full story