Being in management it is often that I will need to work long hours and when you count travel time it can exceed 11 hours per day away from the home or more. High stress, tired when you do get home and out the door before the rest of the

Sound familiar to you??

I find myself in just this position and am extremely concious of the time I spend with my children and the impact that I am making on their development as their father. My wife and I came to the conclusion that we had to do something to make our situation work so ... we compromised on time and the quality of the time spent.

Being out the door early in the morning my wife manages breakfast and takes care of the children during the day. Being flexible in my working hours I decided to make set commitments to my work life and some firm commitments to my home life as well. I decided that I would be home by 6 every night unless there was something of an emergency at work. So far in 3 months I have not been late!

By coming home at a reasonable time I have been able to take control of the bedtime routine and story time before bed! Of course for all those working parents out there we know sometimes it's not the amount of time but the quality of what you do with it. Luckily I only work Monday to Friday which also allows me to be the dominant carer on weekends giving me valuable bonding time with the children but also gives Mum a break from having to do it all.

Needless to say, the working model has improved my relationship with my children and also given my wife a well deserved break on weekends. All up I firmly believe you can get the most out of your time just by being there.