EP26: I Went Back to Work… Then My Toddler Stopped Running to Me
Going back to work after parental leave sounds simple… until you come home and your toddler stops running to you.
Keith is back at work after 16 weeks of paternity leave, trying to balance fatherhood, marriage, and a demanding career... all while wondering if going back to work is changing his relationship with his toddler and 4-month-old.
In this episode of The Jones Family Playbook, Keith opens up about the guilt of going back to work and what it felt like when his two-year-old stopped rushing to the door to greet him.
Then, after their toddler falls off the bed and reaches for Dad for comfort, something changes. That moment gives Keith the reassurance he desperately needed: going back to work didn’t mean his boys loved him any less.
Keith and Holly also talk honestly about sharing the mental load, staying connected as husband and wife, why dads sometimes feel pressure to “just deal with it,” and whether work can actually be a healthy escape from parenting.
And as two journalists and parents, they discuss how becoming parents has completely changed the way they experience and report the news.
In this episode:
• Returning to work after parental leave
• Returning to work after paternity leave
• Dad guilt and working-parent guilt
• Parenting two young boys
• What happens when your toddler stops running to you
• Balancing marriage, parenting, and a demanding career
• The pressure fathers feel to provide
• Work-life balance for working parents
• How becoming parents changes your identity
• How parenthood changes the way journalists see the news
• Why communication matters when both parents are overwhelmed
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https://linktr.ee/jonesfamilyplaybook
👋🏻 ABOUT US
The Jones Family Playbook is a weekly parenting and marriage podcast hosted by Keith and Holly Jones, two broadcast journalists and working parents raising two young boys.
It's where real love, laughter, and parenthood meet — with honest conversations about marriage, parenting, family life, work, and everything that comes with raising a family.
Follow Holly!
www.instagram.com/HollyHarrarTV
Follow Keith!
www.instagram.com/KeithJonesNews
#Parenting #DadLife #WorkingDad #ParentalLeave #Fatherhood #ToddlerParenting #Marriage #FamilyPodcast
