BEHS 343: Parenting Today - Work-Life Balance Challenges and Solutions

This report addresses the challenges of work-life balance in contemporary parenting. The student identifies key issues such as the demands of modern work and its impact on family life, particularly on children's social and psychological well-being. A detailed action plan is proposed, including taking vacations, creating dedicated family time, setting work boundaries, and establishing priorities. The plan also incorporates the use of community agencies like the Center for Women and Work and the Labor Project for Working Families, providing contact information, service descriptions, and costs. The report also discusses potential obstacles to implementing the plan, such as demanding work environments and geographical constraints. Finally, the student reflects on how the research and the process of creating the plan have changed their views on parenting, emphasizing the importance of balancing work and family life.

Running head: PARENTING TODAY 1
Parenting Today – Work-life Balance Issue
Student
Institution

PARENTING TODAY 2
Introduction
In order to understand the challenges and difficulties that parents face today, there is need
to understand the changed dynamics and greater complexities that are involved. Parenting today
is full of challenges, some of which include a culture of blame, whining kids, balancing family
and work life, being afraid to say “NO”, and ensuring that children get quality education and
other basic needs (Leijten & Thomas, 2015). While these challenges are common, nobody is ever
satisfied with lot in life. The standards of good parenting have dramatically changed, and
parenting today has become a difficult task. In this task, balancing family and work life is my
main lot in life. As a parent and also a worker, I feel torn between parenting and professional
responsibilities. While I care so much over my children’s social life and psychological health, I
am much focused to grow my career. With this dilemma, there is need to devise a plan of action
that can help in solving the problem.
Clear plan of action articulated to solve the problem
Work-life balance has always disturbed my parenting responsibilities. Not all times I
have time for my kids, as I have to travel for work assignments and even spent months away
from my kids. Children ever miss to stay with their parents and it is never right for them to see
only a single parent when co-parenting is expected (Brown, 2013). In order to balance
professional and parenting roles, a clear plan of action should be taken:
Take a vacation/ leave: Taking a vacation is the surest approach to giving parenting
responsibilities good time. During the vacation, matters work should be completely shut and pay
focus to only family’s social life (Eberman, 2013). By taking children for a tour, a holiday, or
even a picnic to have fun and understand what they like reinforces parenting. In case some kids
are arrogant, ever whining, or disrespectful, this is the perfect time for a parent to spot that and
talk with the kid on how to be of top discipline, top academic performance, and of warm heart to
others.
Create time for the family: Although my career/ job is important when it comes to
providing for my family, spending all the time at work risks creating a parenting gap with my
children. To solve this problem, I will prioritize on the hobbies and activities that make me
happy during my personal time; and this would be having fun with my kids (Hilbrecht, Margo, &

PARENTING TODAY 3
Susan, 2018). I will create a calendar for family and romantic dates and the bond with family
will remain unshakeable.
Setting work hours boundaries: The other action would be to set boundaries and work
hours in order to avoid being overworked and burnout. Ensuring that once you depart from the
office, one does not think of upcoming projects but only thinks about family matters would help
create a lasting bond with kids (Leijten & Thomas, 2015). Setting work limits would always be a
sure key to positive parenting.
Setting priorities and goals: The other action to take is setting achievable family and work
goals that one is passionate about, with respect to parenting and health. Time management
strategies would be vital to work-life balance (McDowell, 2014). While interacting with kids,
listen to their problems in order to understand their sources of frustration and negative feelings.
Information provided about at least two community agencies
There are community agencies that help in providing information, training, and support to
work-life balance as an attempt to promote positive parenting. Good examples of such
community agencies are Center for Women and Work and Labor Project for Working Families.
Center for Women and Work
The Center for Women and Work is a community agency, a leader in education, research,
and programs that promote social and economic equity for women employees, their families, and
community needs (Susan, 2016). I will contact the Center for Women and Work via their phone
848-932-4614 or via their email ([e-mail]). The agency offers the following
services:
 Addresses advancement of women in the workplace
 Engages employers on issues affecting parenting roles of women and how to balance this
with professional duties
 Sets work-life balance policies in favor of women to their household duties
These services cost $1,500 per month and are required two times a year. Since there are
donations, the service costs can even be set lower.

PARENTING TODAY 4
Labor Project for Working Families
This is a non-profit organization focused to:
 Build alliances between advocacy, unions, and community groups, and
 To come up and implement family-friendly workplace policies such as leave, work
flexibility, and paid sick days.
In order to get their services, I will contact their Washington DC office through their
phone [phone]. The cost of their services differs depending on the project scope and
timeline but ranges between $1,000 to $2,500.
Discussion of obstacles or challenges in implementing the plan of action
The success of this plan of action depends on several factors namely the place/ location
of work, nature of the work, cooperation by the family and many others. In the implementation
of the plan of action, the nature of my work would be a big obstacle. My work is very demanding
and my employer over expects from me. Seeking for a vacation of like one month would be a big
issue and the company might not approve it (Susan, 2016). The other major challenge is location
of work. Even if I stick to working hour’s boundaries and leave workplace early, I would still not
see my family as most times I work outside the country. This is a challenge as we would only
talk over the phone and not interact. Still, my vacation could be approved during a time when my
kids are in school or when schools have not closed (Pitsenberger, 2016). In this case, planning a
holiday out together would be a dream never comes true.
Reflection and conclusion
In conclusion, work-life balance is a parenting issue that trouble many parents today.
However, parents need to derive a plan of action and strictly adhere to it in order to strike a fair
balance between their professional and work responsibilities. This research topic of “parenting
today” has influenced my parenting views greatly by making me understand that family affairs
should be equally treated with top priority just like work matters. Therefore, all parents should
endeavor to set boundaries of work and their social life with family as far as parenting is
concerned.

PARENTING TODAY 5
References
Brown, A. W. (2013). Parenting in the twenty-first century: An introduction. Journal of Human
Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(2), 109-117.
Eberman, L. E. (2013). Athletic trainer perceptions of life-work balance and parenting concerns.
Journal of Athletic Training, 48(3), 416-423.
Hilbrecht, Margo, & Susan, S. M. (2018). I'm home for the kids’: contradictory implications for
work–life balance of teleworking mothers. Gender, Work & Organizations, 15(5), 454-
476.
Leijten, P., & Thomas, J. (2015). Bringing parenting interventions back to the future: how
randomized microtrials may benefit parenting intervention efficacy. Clinical Psychology:
Science and Practice, 22(1), 47-57.
McDowell, L. (2014). Work, workfare, work/life balance and an ethic of care. Progress in
Human Geography, 28(2), 145-163.
Pitsenberger, D. J. (2016). Juggling work and elder caregiving: work–life balance for aging
American workers. Aaohn Journal, 54(4), 181-187.
Susan, N. (2016). 5 Top Parenting Challenges and How to Deal with Them. Psychology Today,
2(1), 1-8.