D A D B L O G S
A dad blog by a geek dad with two geeky kids.
Almost every dad blogger I know has a list of his 'must-read books for dad'. Oh well, I have one too. In this post, I want to share with you the books I've read as a new dad, the books I'm currently reading and the books I read to my kids. So if you're ready, my list begins now.
ho doesn't want to be a great dad? We all want to be the kind of dad our kids love and respect. But with all the responsibilities we need to accomplish, we barely have the attention and time to make this as a primary goal in our parenting lives. Nevertheless, we should strive to be one because our kids' future are dependent on the kind of dads we are to them.
Build a strong relationship with your kids. Child psychologists say that your connection with your kids should start from the time they were born. So if you have a newborn in the family start bonding with your baby as early as now. It's not yet too late to start with your young and/or teenage kids though. Manage your time and find ways to prioritize them always. Avoid being punitive. Punishing kids for every misdeeds they make can harm your relationship with them. Actually, no parent-child relationship is born in such a set-up. Guide them in a positive way. Encourage them to do good in school, to behave at all times, to love their siblings, etc. in a supportive manner. By doing these, your kids will blossom into adulthood and your relationship with them with all the goodness you could ever imagine. Don't give rifts a chance in your relationship. Do you feel like your kids are always pushing you away? Don't withdraw from gaining their attention and cooperation back unless you're going to use it as a strategy. Treat every instance as an opportunity for you to be closer to them. Be available for them all the time. Kids open up and share their thoughts in a relaxed environment. Try your best to show your kids that you have the time and energy to listen to their stories without judging them. If you become successful at this, you will find them looking for you - and not for their friends and other people - when there's something important they need to share. Have you been a stay at home dad for a while and now returning to the workforce? Yes? You might feel anxious that your job search and job interview skills are all rusty now. Don't fret too much. Read these insights that can help you get started with it.
1) Prepare your resume. Apart from mentioning in your resume your employment experiences before you became a stay at home dad, you must include in it any volunteer work or academic and extra-curricular activities you've accomplished with your kids. This has nothing to do with your employment skills. But this gives your prospective employer an idea of your soft skills and about how meaningful you've spent your time. 2) Ask the help of everybody. Let all your family members, friends, acquaintances and neighbors know that you're looking for a job. This is something you shouldn't be ashamed about. You will have a bigger chance of getting more employment opportunities if everybody helps. 3) Join professional organizations. This is key to knowing people in your profession. They can provide valuable recommendations for your job hunt. Moreover, these organizations provide free seminars and training sessions that help you improve and learn new skills. That would be good to see in your resume. 4) Share what you've learned from staying at home for some time. Since you've been dealing with your kids and the chores for some time, you're most likely to have a lot of patience when accomplishing tasks. Also, you might have mastered time management and some organizational skills. These could all be a plus when you're applying for a job. 5) Practice patience. If you left a top position some years ago, you cannot expect to get back to the same position and salary range when you get back to work today. You can choose to stay at the job hunt stage a little longer until a suitable employment opportunity comes. Or, you can take a lower or entry position at the moment and work your way back to the top. Both situations will require extreme patience on your part. And I finish my post with this fortune cookie message: Balancing your home life and work life can be very challenging to us dads. More often than not, we skimp on sleep in order to accomplish all our responsibilities. Because of this, our energy reserves are drained easily. As a result, we sometimes important activities or once in a lifetime opportunities. Keen to know you can keep yourself energized all through out busy days? Read up. 1) Keep your schedule. If you oversleep because you slept very late the night before, chances are you'll cram your way towards the accomplishment of all the tasks you have for the day. This is stressful; and stress drains a lot of your energy. Get up at the same time in the morning even though you're sleep deprived so you don't have to have to endure a messed up and an unproductive day.
2) Stay hydrated. This will keep you alert. If your cells have enough water, your brain will function efficiently even under pressure. With saying that, don't be addictive to caffeine just to keep yourself alert and awake. A cup of expresso is enough to keep you up for the day until the time your body needs to sleep. 3) Take cat naps. Taking 15 to 20 minutes will make you feel energised and rejuvenated. You don't have to schedule this. If you feel like taking a nap, do so. But be sure to inform your boss and co-workers about it. 4) Skip the sugar. When you're sleep deprived, you're more likely to crave for sugary and salty food. Be determined to avoid them because they will make you feel lazy and sleepy after all. Bring celery sticks, bananas, nuts and other healthy stuff to munch on while you're working. You'll be surprised at how they can make you alert all through out the day. 5) Get out. Ask permission to leave your workstation so you can clear your mind a bit and breathe in some fresh air. Do the same if you're at home doing some chores. This will keep you from loosing it especially when you're faced against a stressful situation. If you're no longer happy with your job, you're most likely to look for another job that will make you feel fulfilled and happy. While this can be helpful, changing jobs whenever you feel bad at your current work isn't advisable. This habit can lead you to career and financial instabilities which are serious problems you might want to avoid especially when you're the head of the family.
Keen to know how you can stay happy at your current work? Read these tips. Develop resilience. We all commit mistakes and face adversities in life. Overthinking about the things you failed to do or failed to avoid in the past won't do you good. The same goes with self-blaming and making excuses that you're not as good or as skilled as others. Pick up yourself quickly and keep pushing yourself forward - towards performing at your best, achieving your goals and helping co-workers. Forgive and let go of grudges. There are people who will rub you in the way. That is inevitable. You can choose to hold grudges or not. If you want to have positive relationships with everyone at work, drop the past and just continue with your work. Avoid jealousy. Getting jealous is a waste of your time, abilities and opportunities. Be happy with what your co-workers' have achieved and remember that you can be successful in your own way and in your own area of excellence. Change your perspective. Imagine yourself ten years ago. Do you appreciate what you've finally become? Imagine yourself ten years from now? Are there any goals and self-improvements you would want to achieve? Doing this will help you see your development and your shortcomings. You can use both to have a clearer direction in your career path and in life --- a great way to break free from negative thinking. Appreciate the process more than the outcome. No matter how you work hard, the outcome will be beyond your control. Instead of sulking because things didn't go your way, appreciate the process, the hard work you've gone through. Why? Because you were able to develop a stronger character in the process. |
Hey there. My name is Jim. I'm a dad & I know some dad stuff & I like to write about them here. More about me.
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