Can any one suggest ways to keep my kids involved with their father while hes away at work for 2+ weeks??

Question

We have 3 small children, the oldest is almost 5...
His daddy (my husband) just recently started truck driving long haul..and its taking a toll on my oldest... durren my hubbys first trip out my son had nite mares every nite and kept thinking i was NEVER coming back to get him at preschool....well my husband came home for a week..and left this AM again for his 2nd time out..and my son bawled the whole way home....
I Cant send post cards to my hubby as hes all over the place but i wanna do some thing with my sons so that they can feel closer to him while hes away.
Any ideas???

We do actually call him every nite...except them nites where hes in an area where theres no reception..(we only have a trac fone currently..but we plan to get i think,.... Cingular and get that family talk plan or some thing along them lines.)

Answer 1

Ask your children to make things for their father. Like, a big surprise present for him when he comes back. That should keep them occupied, and also, since it is supposed to be a "surprise" they wouldn't be that anxious to see him until they have completed the present. Like some model truck or a house. Make sure it interests them!

Also, teach them to write "letters" to Dad, and to write about doing things without him, so that they can feel a sense of growing up and achievement.

Answer 2

Rough times ahead, but it gets better.

First off, im a father of a 3 year old.
Every year i leave on a job that i am gone for a month at a time. Last year my daughter realized i was gone for a very long time , as she put it, and this year will be even worse.
As i am leaving soon once again i have explained to her that i must go on this job and not to worry, you know, the basics. Last year me and my wife worked something out. Atleast once a day i would call and speak with my 3 year old and tell her where i am , then her and my wife would look it up on the PC. So she can see where daddy is, and that i am getting closer when im on my way back. Basicaly made a tracking the daddy game of it.
It helped her to see i was on my way back even though it was still a bit rough on her. This year i also invested in a PDA with Wifi and small keyboard for it so i can type emails for her mother to read her while im on the road, also invested in a laptop with a webcam when im in a hotel. These were the pricey part of the having to leave.
But at the very least plenty of calls from the cell phone for a while and the " track daddy " part helped when she was 2 ( calls more so at that age).She is looking forward to the tracking game even more so this year as she understands it better. We sat and looked at a childs map and i showed her the place i was going and she wanted to just go on the PC and look with me. We were able to find things about each place, pictures and the such.
We sat and "connected the dots" of my travel plan and she sad it was a circle, i told her the same thing i told her when i taught her to draw a circle, its a line that comes around to the begining. Which made me feel she understood i'd be back when she told me my "travel circle" would bring me back.
In time she will see and understand and i just spent PLENTY of quality time with her when i got back.


Good luck.

Answer 3

Had a hubby off to war with 2 little ones long ago, so it's hard for them to be away from Da. You might try any of these suggestions-

Have dad record himself reading a stories from a few books that you can play back as you turn the pages for the 5 year old.

It's pretty important for dad to call home, so the little ones can hear his voice. Maybe around bedtime for goodnight wishes and kisses.

Get a couple pictures of dad with his truck to put by the kids' beds.

When you know hubby is coming home for a break, get the munchkins to help make a special breakfast or dinner for dad.

Playing 'Where did mommy go? Oh, there she is!' and Hide and Seek helps children to learn that even when people go out of sight for a bit, they come back.

Answer 4

If he is a truck driver, does the truck have a CB radio? I don't know a lot about these, but I thought you could reach anyone anywhere on these things as long as you go on the same frequency. So maybe look into that. -- If you think sending postcards would help, then do it. You don't have to really mail them, put them in a drawer and then have your husband read them when he gets back and tell your son how happy he was to get all his postcards (your son doesn't have to know you aren't mailing them). Dad would probably enjoy reading them too. Dad can always send You postcards from the road as well. -- Daddy could write a letter to give to your son each night to read. In the letter, he could ask your son to do something for him to see when he gets back, like draw me a picture or read a story to tell me about. -- You can also go somewhere like Build A Bear, where they make stuffed animals with personalize voice boxes, and have daddy record a bedtime song or I love You message onto a voice box to go inside a stuffed animal your son can cuddle with. If they don't have a place like this near you, you can probably order one online or just get the voice box then sew it inside an animal your son & his dad pick out together (just cut it open insert box and sew shut). The recording can be changed too if he wants to later on. I did this with my daughter so when she stays at grandma's house she can take nighttime dog. Then I recorded the bedtime song that is part of our routine.

Answer 5

Many truck stops have "wifi", get a laptop and a web cam for your husband, and a web cam for the home computer. Nothing replaces face to face talks. Heck he could even read them a bedtime story over the internet that way.

Not cheap but something to consider. You would need broadband at home to make it work.

Answer 6

i suggest first of all get a cell phone with unlimited incircle calling min. set up a time between you and your husband where he will call and talk to the kids everynight and yall need to sit down and explane to your sons that daddy is out making a paycheck to take care of the family have your husband pick up a cheap souviveer every trip for each of your kids plus get a big road map of the U.S. and every night when daddy calls you and the kids take a marker and mark down where daddy is put a big happy face or star or a small pic. of the four of you on your home city that way they can vissualize the trips daddy is making and see him coming home to them if you have a camera have him start taking it with him to take pics. that way they can see where daddy is if the company has a rider program explane to them that when they reach a certain age daddy can take them on trips with him {at this time you will also be getting a break} chear up tho it's just seperation anxiety if you get them involved with it in some ways such as helping daddy pack and loading his stuff into the truck making that part of their job in helping daddy things will get better then when they see that daddy is on his way home get them involved in getting some sort of supprise together for daddy something that your husband can take with him while he is over the road that way they will be sending daddy out when he leaves with something special from home explane to them that daddy misses them as much as they miss daddy you might also try letting them wear one of daddy's shirts or caps if he wears them and dressing up to play daddy working driving the truck this will also help them develope a good work ethic you'll make it threw this i promise you just have to find individual things around the house that will keep them close to their daddy chear up it will be ok

Answer 7

If he has a cell phone you can call him once a day have to have the kids listen to his voice. Or before he leaves next time have him make a little video saying he misses the kids while he's gone and how much he loves them and to be good for mommy.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

why dont you call him everynight and have your kids talk to him

Answer 10

Welcome to the age of technology! We have laptops and webcams, and so should you!