Factors to Consider When Selecting a Guardian for Your Children — Work Schedule

NB: This post is part of a series discussing factors you should consider when selecting a guardian for your minor children. You can read all these posts here.

My husband and I often wonder what we did with all our free time before we were parents.

With three children, our weeks are packed with homework, sports, music lessons and play dates. There are PTA meetings, fundraisers, parent-teacher conferences and awards assemblies. Birthday parties consume some weekends. And the time commitments have only grown as our children have gotten older.

Raising children takes time – lots of it! So when selecting a guardian, it is important to consider whether they will be able to devote the time needed to be an active part of your children’s lives.

Part of that consideration involves determining whether a prospective guardian’s work schedule will allow him or her to be as involved as you would like.

Consider the following factors:

• While a lot people are able to work a limited number of hours a week, many have demanding jobs that require them to spend more time at their jobs than at home. Which kind of job does your prospective guardian have? If his or her job requires long and unpredictable hours, who will care for your children and provide for their needs while he or she is at work? Is that acceptable to you?
• Does your prospective guardian’s job require travel? If so, how frequently? Are the trips just a few days or do they last a week or more? Who will care for your children while he or she is traveling? Is that acceptable to you?
• Does your prospective guardian have a job that is considered dangerous might expose him or her serious injury or even death? Someone in a dangerous line of work is probably not the ideal person to select as a guardian for obvious reasons.

The person you are considering may have all the characteristics you believe will make a great guardian for your children. But if a demanding work schedule or a dangerous job will prevent him or her from being an active part of your children’s lives, it would be wise to consider another choice.