TAMPA, FL -- (Marketwire) -- 11/29/11 -- With a masters in human leisure development and a business specializing in recreation services and facilities management, Tom Watson, author of "Man Shoes: The Journey to Becoming a Better Man, Husband & Father" (www.manshoes.net), knows the importance of fathers spending quality down time with their children.

But with so many families financially stressed, it's the first "job" many dads are abandoning.

"These days, many fathers are either unemployed and working hard to find work or they're working two jobs or more just to make ends meet," Watson says. "Either they don't have much time for family, or they just aren't in the mood."

Watson offers these tips for dads trying to stay connected in a tough economy:

• Share Time - It's important for your kids to know that you aren't paying attention to them out of obligation, but rather, because you need to be with them as much as they need to be with you.
  
  
• A Little Time is Better Than None - Even if you can only block out a couple of hours every week, that can be enough. As long as you keep to the schedule and don't let them down, that time will be as valuable as if you spent the entire weekend with them.
  
  
• Don't Plan Big - The pitfall is that the bigger the plan, the bigger the expectation. The truth is, kids don't care. You don't have to spend a lot of money or make big plans all the time. It could be as simple as going to the park to fly kites and eating a brown bag lunch together, and most kids would be happy with that.

Watson adds, "While it may seem to some that working hard to provide for their families is their primary responsibility as a father, that's just not so."

About Tom Watson

Tom Watson is a survivor of child abuse, upheaval and 13 foster homes, so he learned how to overcome adversity at an early age. He drew from previous life lessons to persevere and show that new beginnings are possible at any age or stage of life. These principles and their applications are chronicled in his new book, "Man Shoes: The Journey to Becoming a Better Man, Husband & Father," (www.manshoes.net).

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