Fathers & Finances

Hello Readers!

I’ve been having a great week so far, and I hope you have been to. As you can see, this week in class we learned about the importance of fatherhood and finances as well. They are both interesting topics, and they both affect the family, but in different ways. So, here are some of my thoughts.

     First of all, what is fathering? Think about that for a second. Fathers have many responsibilities in the family. Generally, he is the bread winner and is working, but at the same time, he plays a very important role in raising the children. Preparing children for the world outside of the family. It is as simple as that. The main role of a father, whether consciously or not, is to prepare his children for life in the world. While mothers often stay home and nurture and teach things in the home, the father plays the important role of helping children understand how the world works. I find this very fitting, seeing as the father is usually the one who is out in the world the most.

     I look back at time spent with my father and I can see how he helped prepare me for life on my own out in the world. He taught me things like how to save money and be thrifty, or how to change oil in cars, or even just how to work. The world is not an easy place to survive in if you are not prepared. In today’s society it is popular for fathers to work a 9am – 5pm job. This does not usually leave the father with much time to be a father. This can have a negative effect on a family, especially if the father is gone for extended periods of time.

     Men tend to automatically have authority over their children while women lean towards earning the authority over their children. Now I am not saying that men are superior to women in any way, but just that the children tend to respect their fathers more. Mothers are usually the primary discipliner, so they earn the authority through discipline. I think the reason fathers automatically have this authority is because the children are not used to seeing dad discipline as often as their mother. Think back to your childhood. When mom asked you to stop doing something you might shrug it off and continue doing it, but when dad steps in you stop immediately. It is interesting to think about. But the bottom line is, fathers are important. They should try to spend as much time with their children as possible because even just their example can help mold and shape their children.

     Something else we talked about was finances. Finances can be a huge stressor in a family, and rightfully so. We need money to survive in this world. Many times, parents sacrifice a lot of family time in order to make more money. Some families even work two jobs! Contrary to popular belief, this is actually worse for your family situation. Below are some of the costs of having a “dual income.”

• ·        Cost of Dual Incomes:

o   Competitive (don’t need to work together)

o   Sense of failure (If other spouse is making more money)

o   Delay children

o   Parents are less available

     Do any of these things seem desirable to you? I didn’t think so. No one wants their family to be torn up, and especially over finances. Sure, your standard of living might improve, but is it really worth it to have no relationships with your children? For me, not a chance. Learn to manage money before it manages you.

     Thanks for reading! Hope something helps you out in your journey called life! Have a good week!