麻豆传媒

Published September 19 in the Globe and Mail:

Fall is a time of endings, as the leaves drift down from the trees and the daylight hours ebb. But fall is also a time of beginnings, with students starting a new year and, more generally, individuals flocking to new ventures, from yoga to Spanish classes. As prelude to the end-of-year holidays, fall can also be the busiest season, the placid pace of summer replaced by a frenzy of work and personal activities.

Michael Ungar, a professor of social work at 麻豆传媒, sums that all up with two phrases that give new clarity to the work-life balance issues of fall. Working with families, he has found it鈥檚 鈥渁 time of transition鈥� and a 鈥渢ime of renegotiation.鈥�

Although spring is considered the season of renewal, beyond farmers and gardeners he says, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 see much renewal in spring. There鈥檚 the Christian mythology of Easter. But often in May and June you鈥檙e ending things [ahead of the summer holiday season].鈥� In fall, however, people start over again. It鈥檚 a time to rethink what you鈥檙e doing and the roles in your family.

Children start new levels of education, some of them momentous like the first year of high school or university. The new grade level signals a new maturity 鈥� or expected maturity 鈥� and parents and children renegotiate roles, sometimes not so easily. 鈥淥ver summer, the rules were suspended. But now parents feel the child is older and ready for more responsibility, or the parents haven鈥檛 changed but the child feels ready for more responsibility,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t a renewal of vows in families. It鈥檚 time to rethink how we relate, what we do, and reciprocity 鈥� who will do things.鈥�

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