'It’s hard to run life’s race on an empty tank, and these times are great ways to refuel and recharge,' wrote the dad.
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."
My wife and I are working on a family PTO (parent’s time off) plan. Here’s what we are starting with.
— Matt Ragland (@mattragland) July 23, 2023
1 night per week
Half day weekend per month
One full weekend day per quarter
Parenting little kids is one of the most meaningful parts of life, but the gift of time is one of… pic.twitter.com/XVXKDTZme5
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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."
Good stuff. Things like this are what my wife and I keep everything together.
— David Waters - Gators Breakdown (@GatorDave_SEC) July 23, 2023
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.
Should have clarified this is all solo time, so one of us is with the kids.
— Matt Ragland (@mattragland) July 23, 2023
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.
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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!"
Excellent sentiment here. People need to realize that having little moments like these MAKE you better parents. It really matters.
— TheIndustrialGuy (@Indus_Guy) July 23, 2023
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!"
If you have kids, you gotta start doing this with your partner. 😍
— André Oliveira (@smackingg) June 12, 2023
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. 💌
Sounds basic, right?… pic.twitter.com/QpoxYqJU81