Weekend dads

doweshowbellyad=0; Weekend dadsSanaya Chavda finds out how busy fathers make up for lost time with their children...
A conflict between career and family life is one that many parents face. Many children remember a father who wasn’t around as much as they would have liked. And it’s a fairly common phenomenon. For a lot of kids, spending time with their dads is restricted to weekends and holidays.
Fathers, on their part, are often caught in the middle—trying to keep up with work pressures and promises to their children. And, before they realise it, days fly by, kids grow up and they haven’t connected. But it’s imperative to strike a balance somewhere. So, how do dads with demanding work schedules make time for their children?
TV anchor Shekhar Suman believes it is criminal to say you don’t have time for your family. “It generally depends on how much one wants to invest in the relationship. I may not always be physically present, but I constantly keep in touch by calling or emailing. This way, I can know what my child needs,” he explains.
As a TV personality, his work requires him to travel quite a lot. “So, I need to make a special effort to be physically connected,” says Suman. “It is important for me to constantly talk to my child. I spend one-on-one time with my son Adhyayan by going for drives together or watching movies. I get to know him everyday.” Sometimes, Suman feels, it can be something as simple as a game of chess or reading together—just anything that shows his affection.
For choreographer Marc Robinson, making time for his two children—four-year-old Chanel and two-and-a-half-year-old Brooklyn—is top priority, and a critical part of his time management. “I think it’s necessary to make that special effort. Before you know it, your children will grow up and won’t have any time for you,” he says. He tries to take weekends off from work to catch up with them. “We go and play football together or I take them swimming. If I’m not at home I make sure I call them seven to eight times a day so that I’m constantly updated on their activities,” explains Robinson. “For me, the greatest luxury is time and so I make sure I dedicate a generous part of it to my children.”
Actor Manish Goyal says he tries to connect with his son Aryaveer through a diary that he writes for him. “I’ve been writing diaries everyday since he was born, recording what he did. I plan to present him a set of 15 such diaries on his 15th birthday,” he explains. If he’s busy shooting all day, he makes it a point to talk to his wife and find out what Aryaveer’s been up to.
“My son and I usually spend quality time on Saturday or Sunday by going to the mall and playing indoor games. I let him eat whatever he wants—an indulgence he doesn’t get too often with his mother,” he grins. Goyal believes fathers with busy work schedules need to make an extra effort to spend time with their children.
“There was a point when I didn’t see my son for almost three months, but I constantly asked my wife to update me,” says Goyal. After his stint in the reality TV show ‘Nach Baliye’, Goyal took a break from work just so that he could catch up with his son. “We often have pillow fights or play music and dance together; it’s vital to keep a strong bond,” he concludes.
Busy dads can balance out their hectic work weeks by devoting weekends to their kids. Or find father-and-child activities where a few hours a week are spent together exclusively. You can go book shopping, read together or just toss a ball around—keep the bonds going and make sure you have a steadfast presence in your child’s life.