Parents – September 2019

THE

W O R K I N G

PARENTS’

GUI DE TO

WEEKNIGHTS

ONE NIGHT when my older son was 12, he
said in the cheeriest of tones, “Mom, I’ve
spent more of my life with Mable than
with you or Dad.” Mable is our nanny,
you should know, and if you’re counting
waking hours, he is technically right.
File that under things that a working
parent never, ever wants to hear. We
already torture ourselves with that math.

On weekdays, we might get just two

hours with our kids each morning and

two hours at night (depending on their

ages), and it’s easy to feel teary and guilty

if you compare those 20 hours with what

the sitter or the day-care center gets.

When Serena Williams was a new mom,

she lamented on Twitter that she’d

missed her baby’s first steps while she

was training for Wimbledon. What

parent couldn’t relate? Sure, there will be

many milestones as our kids grow, but

when you miss one, it rips your heart out.

“Milestones are wonderful, but

they’re only a tiny fraction of what gives

life meaning,” says Sonja Lyubomirsky,

Ph.D., professor of psychology at the

University of California, Riverside, and

If you’re frustrated that you

get only a few hours with your kids, try these

simple strategies to optimize

your moments, and trust that they’re enough.

by LISA LOMBARDI / illustrations by BIJOU KARMAN

PARENTS 128 SEPTEMBER 2019

LIFEÑAdvice