I reckon I would have loved it! Nice money and I would get the run of things at home. It wouldn’t have affected my kids that much as my partner didn’t have much to do with them anyway

It is hard and our family has been bought up working 6-7 days a week because when you financially need it there is not much of a choice. I would try and create some balance for yourself even if it a small side hobby so you are kept busy even though hub isn’t around all the time .

oh that would be tough. definately skype when possible even if you just keep it on for hours and hang out!

If your kids are still young I have seen dolls made up with a picture of dad on them so they can feel like they are hugging dad every night even when he isn’t there – I can’t remember what they are called?!

Brilliant answer mom165081! You have some great strategies and tips – hope the ‘poster’ finds them helpful. Might use some myself! 🙂

Yes! It was following redundancy, so not our choice. Initially in Australia, 8 on/6 off. Always found the first day and night away pretty tough, but you do get used to it. Marked up calendar so kids could see exactly when Dad was due home. Kids got used to the routine pretty quickly and LOVED having a dad that was home a week at a time and could get involved with school. Very funny when he did canteen duty. I noticed kids got a bit clingy towards end of swing, teachers very supportive and appreciated being told.

Dad was away Christmas Day, Easter and lots of holidays. We made a point of celebrating early with all the trimmings. MAKE SURE NO ONE SAYS. ‘What a shame Dads not here/missing’ as this does upset and hurt the kids.

Skpe or FaceTime everyday – but don’t force it on the kids. Sometimes they have other things happening. Don’t let this stress you or dad.

We have now moved to overseas FIFO of 4 on/2 off. This is harder given Timezone differences. There are positives and negatives – focus on the positive

Take heaps of photos of everyday activities with the kids and kids craft etc and forward to dad via email or sms. This provides things for them to talk about.

Good luck and stay strong!

Hope someone can help you. There are probably online forums? Maybe take a look?