Superdads by Gayle Kaufman

Author:Gayle Kaufman [Kaufman, Gayle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780814749166
Barnesnoble:
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 2013-06-01T00:00:00+00:00

When Trevor comes home, he has a little bit of homework to do, and so I bring out my work and we sit at the kitchen table together, and I say—I just tell him, “I’ve got my homework, too.” And so he does his, you know, little math problems, and of course he can certainly ask me at any point if he gets stuck on a problem. I’m able to help him because I’m right there with him.

Claude is able to organize his time so that he and his son “work” together. He also brings Trevor to work sometimes. On days when school is out, he usually works half a day and takes Trevor to the salon or to his rental properties to clean up or mow a lawn. This combination of work and family is almost necessary for this father since he is the only parent involved in his son’s life. The overlap of work and family duties can help fathers achieve a healthier balance between these two domains.16

Gary, in contrast, does not want to compromise time with his family. Therefore, he leaves work at a reasonable hour and spends time with his family before continuing to work at home: “When I do have to juggle the two, I usually will just—if I have to do some work at home at night, I usually stay up late, and I make time for being a dad and for being a husband so I spend time with my wife as well.” This strategy means that he will work late at night, which then affects his sleep and the way he functions the following day. It also means that the number of hours he spends working is not as affected as his personal balance since he makes up for less time at work by working at home. In other words, as with the other fathers who blur the lines by bringing work home, he still manages to get his work done, but it infringes on family time, personal time, or sleep time. These fathers’ “integration of previously separate spheres” means they can have a greater presence in their children’s lives. But it also highlights the shifting of home out of its former private space.17

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