Man shares how he and his wife take time off parenting and people are loving the idea

Parenting can get exhausting mainly when the kids are younger and need special attention all the time. They need to be fed on time, entertained and have proper nap time. All this while parents have to manage their personal and professional lives. So, a dad of three and a productivity expert Matt Ragland has come up with a genius idea to make sure that both he and his wife have enough time off and calls it the "Parent's Time Off." He wrote in a Twitter post, "My wife and I are working on a family PTO (parent’s time off) plan. Here’s what we are starting with 1 night per week, half day weekend per month, and one full weekend day per quarter."

According to the plan, while one parent is taking time to rest and enjoy, the other will be solo in charge of the kids. Ragland adds, "Parenting little kids is one of the most meaningful parts of life, but the gift of time is one of the best ways to support your spouse. We use these times to meet friends, sleep in, go camping, play golf (me), long runs (her), read and journal, or just chill. It’s hard to run life’s race on an empty tank, and these times are great ways to refuel and recharge."

He also mentions in the comments how they arrange time together as a couple. "Our together time, for now, is mostly limited to date nights or half days on the weekend with a babysitter. Working back towards overnights with grandparents helping," he wrote.

Many parents on the social media platform could understand why it is so important. @amandanat commented, "We did something like this during the pandemic and it saved us. On Saturdays, he’d be on kid duty while I had most of the day. On Sundays, I’d be on kid duty." @cathrynlavery wrote, "Love this idea. Gonna pitch this idea to wifey for us." @TheCraigHewitt said, "Love this! I think as parents, we often sacrifice our happiness, our time, and our priorities for our kids. And rightfully so. But sometimes it's important to refuel the tank so we can be even better parents (and partners) when it's that time. Kudos to you, Matt!"

Another dad and entrepreneur, Andre Oliveira, also shared in the comments how he and his partner take time off. He wrote in a post, "We call it 'Personal Day Off' but name it whatever you'd like! It's basically taking a day or an afternoon off every month or so, just to be together, alone, as a couple." Oliveira continued, "Sounds basic, right? Yeah, I get it. And yet, when life starts taking off — I felt it especially after having kids and running a 50+ person company — it's so easy to neglect. Relationships end (also) because of this. We neglected it for some time and decided to change it. How? By being intentional. When life is too rushed and busy, if you're not intentional, things just don't happen!" He concluded, "It can be a short period of time but makes wonders for the relationship. Fully recommended, give it a try!"