You Work Too Much Dad, Dad Buy Me Something

"You work too much dad", words that most dad's would rather lose a limb than hear.  Balancing a job and family is tough for both men and women, so why do the young people in the family think dad's the jerk?

As a father of two, I can tell you first hand how tough it is to work long hours to make ends meet and yet have your family resent the time you're away from them.  It's the hardest pill to swallow.  Why just the other day my daughter said to me, "You make me feel like I'm inconveniencing you".  This after she called and needed me for something and I suggested she may have to wait.  Dad's have feelings too, and to have to say no or not right this minute, makes us feel horrible.

Most parents these days want to give their kids better lives than they had, but are we?  How hard it must be for a kid to look into the bleachers during a gymnastics's meet and not see dad because he had to work.  Or when little Susie who's been practicing piano for months, looks out into the audience the night of the recital and sees only mom.

I believe most men hate being away from their family but might justify it by convincing themselves that the reason little Susie has a new outfit, a new laptop or even movie money is because of dad's successful career which usually doesn't happen by working from home.  I'm sure working mom's have felt the same way too.  But why is dad the jerk?

Why are dad's thought of as the guy who's the big jerk that comes in at the end of the day with an attitude, tired and then every other weekend has to leave early Saturday morning to play golf?

Children in households with stay at home moms, forget most times, the reason mom can stay home is because dad is working his butt off.  The reason there is food in the house is because of dad.  The reason there is a house is because of dad.  The car, insurance, lights that come on, clothes, water that steams from faucets, all things that are necessary for a standard quality of life all because dad is providing.  And if dad needs to recharge by playing a round of golf, he should be allowed without feeling guilty.

Baby boomers want their children's lives to be better than theirs and even better than the generation before them.  It seems like a good idea right?  But have we created a generation of people who need 13 hours of sleep a night to be happy?  A generation that believes they are entitled?  Are they lazy?  Do they know the value of dollar or better yet, how hard it is to make one?  Have we created a generation that would rather look down at an iPhone than look up into our eyes?  A generation that believes if something is broken someone else will come along and fix it?

We have done a disservice to our children.  Everybody on the team has to get a trophy these days.  Kids walk around with our credit cards. They drive better cars than we do.  And they have no idea where the lawn mower is kept.

I don't mean to lump all the kids of today into this category.  There are wonderful, responsible, hard working young people in this world.  We could just use a few more that gave dad a little more credit and understood that a big part of their quality of life is because this person with a beard that walks around the house oblivious and scratches a lot, is the reason.