Compared to 30 or 40 years ago, almost every facet of our lives has significantly changed. While technology has played a massive role in this shift, so have social norms. Nowadays, many fathers are taking time off work to stay at home and raise their children. While this ‘job’ is big enough in itself, some stay at home parents are also using this precious time to study so they can up-skill or change careers altogether. So how do you balance the demands of being a stay-at-home Dad with study? Here’s how…
Flexibility
If you’re going to study while raising children, the single most important thing you need from your education provider is flexibility. Attending classes and tutorials at a bricks and mortar college or university is highly unlikely to suit your lifestyle. You need the flexibility to be able to study at all times of the day and sometimes, for short bursts here and there. Online learning is by far your best choice here. With so many providers out there now, look for an established institution such as Careers Australia, which offers a range of course delivery modes.
Routine
One of the cardinal rules for raising children is to have a routine and stick to it. Kids need routine, but so do parents. Little people live in the ‘now’, so they need to have a sense of what will be happening next. This is reassuring for them and provides feelings of safety and security. Otherwise, things can easily spiral out of control and that’s when many behavioural and family problems start. As parents, routines allow us to plan our days so that we can get things done. Every family is different, so establish a routine that works for you and this will allow you to figure out the best times to study. However, as any parent will tell you, plans often don’t go to plan! So if you miss allocated study times, be sure to schedule in some catch up sessions.
Ask for Help
“No man is an island” and this couldn’t more true as a parent. It’s not possible to go it alone, so don’t try. Make sure you have a good network of people that can support you through your studies. If you have a partner, negotiate times when you can study and when they can have time off. If you can call upon other family members to babysit for a few hours here and there, then kindly ask them. Perhaps you have friends or other parents you know from playgroups who you can also organise an agreement with. Also consider placing your little one/s into a day care centre for a couple of days a week so you can have solid, uninterrupted study time.
Be Realistic
For you to succeed in your studies, it’s imperative that you pace yourself and be realistic. If you set unrealistic goals and expectations, you’re placing undue pressure not only on you, but your family as well. Study needs to be seen as a secondary function that you fit around your responsibilities as a husband/partner and very importantly, as a Dad.
Modern family life is very different to what it was in days gone by. For parents that do stay at home now, many of them are also blending family duties with study. It might sound like a daunting task, but it is possible to be a full-time Dad and study at the same time.
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