When you have young kids, it can be tough to travel frequently for work (though once in a while, it’s pure bliss, amirite?). One dad named Hunter found a sweet way to connect with his daughter while he’s away.
Photo: Usanee/Shutterstock
On Winnie, a social networking app for parents, he writes that before he leaves, his daughter lends him one of her smaller stuffed animals — a little fish with sparkly fins.
Then, when he’s travelling, he sends her pictures of the fish “having a good time” with him. “It gives her a sense of what I’m doing while being away from her and gives us another ‘connection’ beyond the phone calls/FaceTime,” Hunter writes.
Here are a few photos of the fish on the adventure.
Winnie
Winnie
Winnie
The father adds that when he attends a business conference, he takes a picture of his stuffed animal on stage “to remind her that one day she can be up there if she wants.”
Other ways to ease the work-trip separation anxiety is to leave special notes or other surprises for your kid in easy-to-find spots (like in a lunchbox, by the sink or in a shoe), send a recording yourself reading a bedtime story, and just be really engaged and connected when you immediately return. On Tim Ferriss’ blog, a father named John Heltzel recommends playing the “10-minute Boss” game to quickly re-connect with your kids.
He explains how it works: “When you get home, take out your iPhone, set the timer for 10 minutes, and say ‘you are now the boss for the next 10 minutes’ and see what happens.” Your kids will be thrilled to have you back.
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