I posted this to another loop and thought I'd share it here.
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I’ve been reading with interest the comments about fathers because over the years we seem to have found a balance between Dad & Mom’s input with the kids.
Greg, your advice to fathers is great. I also applaud you and Mark for wanting to work at home. We have had several of our own businesses over the years of our marriage, some in the home & some out of the home. The past few years Steve has been working from home. God has been gracious to provide for our family in this way.
It is very cool for dads to be at home, with freedom to schedule work around their family. That’s not to say dads at home do not work a lot. Steve can choose to work into the wee hours of the night, after the kids go to bed which means he can join us for fun activities during the day. This past year Steve took off the morning of our first snow to go sledding with us. All of us spent the morning sledding and drinking hot chocolate. We thank God for memories like this one.
Since we have a family business, Steve can spend time teaching our 13yo son entrepreneurial skills. This is not a workbook lesson, but a hands-on lesson. They buy the materials for the marshmallow guns and potato cannon kits. They figure the cost of the products and the mark-up. They box and sell the items. On the other hand, I help my son write articles for his newsletter in our writing class because we sell his products on our family website.
This may not seem feasible for most families, but we believe it is. We moved from Texas to Idaho 2 years ago and Steve wanted to get a job to support us. He hadn’t worked for someone else in 20 years. After some discussion, he decided to work on the businesses we already owned…all internet businesses. Steve & I have taught ourselves so many things about internet businesses over the last 2 years. God continues to provide for us, even when it looks like we might need to dip into savings.
Now, we thank God for the privilege of helping other families start their own businesses at home, especially internet businesses that you can operate anywhere in the world. If anyone is interested in ideas about Christian home-based businesses, check out Steve’s free newsletters found at www.FamilyEbiz.com
Back to homeschooling…
Just because Steve is at home, doesn’t mean I ask him to teach lessons to the kids during the day. He usually works during the day and we respect that time so he can provide for our family. One suggestion I would make for dads wanting to be more involved in their kids’ education is use dinner time. I love dinner time because we all eat together and have great conversation. (Yes, that means you do have to plan to eat together, even if it’s at 8:30pm after basketball practice) Steve can see what the kids are learning and dive into areas of interest with them. For us, this is not a “what did you learn today” time. It is a natural time for us to talk about lessons from the Crusades, why Barry Bonds should/should not lose his awards while taking steroids, whether or not The Patriot was accurate with history, or what the difference beliefs about Revelation are. Dads can greatly influence their children around the dinner table. Take advantage of that time. Helping with the dishes, afterwards, isn’t such a bad idea either.
Blessings,
Kerry Beck
ps. I know this is from Mom’s perspective, but I thank God that we finally arrived at a balance in our family and I don’t feel as burned out because Steve is involved in our kids’ lives
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