Motivated Mommy Monday's: Keeping Daddy in the Loop

Sorry, this is so late. My husband had the day off so we enjoyed some much needed family time. Watching my husband play with the kids I was reminded of how much he misses when he is at work, from cute little things they say to their new favorites. As much as I hate that he has to miss so many things because of work the alternative is just NOT an option! However, I have taken enough psychology classes to know that the role Josh plays in the lives of our children is vital (Statistics on the importance of Fathers).

Though, most of the research focuses on the devastating affects of fatherless homes there are a few statistics that also focus on emotionally absent and busy fathers, and the results are just as detrimental. That's why as a motivated mommy I want to do everything in my power to make sure my husband stays connected with our kids. My husband is in NO way emotionally absent, but sadly as a father who works he can get a little busy. So, I have made it my personal responsibility to make sure he stays in the loop.

I try to tell Josh as much about the kid's day as possible, especially any first, or new favorites. That way, when he decides to sit down and play with the kids he knows that Jeremiah would rather play board games or Leapster games than cars or action figures (which he would have preferred last month).  If he wants to read to them he will know that right now Jeremiah is really into his tag. Or let's say Cherish is standing next to him repeating something over and over. Two weeks ago he would have ignored her because he knew she just liked saying it; however because I informed him, he knows that if he ignores her now he will get a "Daddy, I'm talking to you. Hey DADDY, I'm talking to you," which might be followed by pulling his face in her direction.

These things might seem small but I have discovered buy taking a few minutes to fill my husband in I'm saving him hours of time. That way rather than spending half an hour trying to figure out what to play with the kids he can just grab something he knows they like and start playing. Or rather than spending fifteen minutes trying to decide on a book he can just grab one and start reading. The way I see it dads have so little time with their kids so if we can help them make the most of that time we are doing them AND the kids a huge favor.

I think because we SAHMs are around our kids all the time, we take for granted the value of knowing the little things about them and just fail to realize that our hubbies could use that information too. Hopefully this post gets us thinking and reminds us of the importance of filling daddy in.

Just some thoughts,
MEL