James Cracknell On Being A Good Dad
Joins campaign to help fathers get good work-life balance
Local resident and Olympic gold medallist James Cracknell has joined a campaign to help dads choose a better work-life balance so that they don't miss out on spending time with their young children. The campaign believes workaholic dads need to spend more time with their children in order to avoid a "crisis of fatherhood" in Britain.
The Chiswick resident and father of three, says that the Dadpreneur movement will help shine a light on the issues and challenges facing the modern working father. He himself spent long periods of time away from his family due to work commitments - that changed after his near-fatal accident four years ago.
James pictured with wife Beverley
Michelin starred chef Jason Atheron and psychotherapist Phllip Hodson have also joined the Dadpreneur Movement, brainchild of notonthehighstreet.com Founder Holly Tucker.
James Cracknell said: "As a father, I appreciate how challenging it can be to ensure you have quality time with your kids especially when with varied working hours often mean pitching up at home post bedtime.
"The nation’s fathers are in real danger of missing out on building those special memory moments. Balancing a busy career with a family can put strains on time and relationships at home and as such fathers in the UK missing out on important stages in their children’s lives due to working pressures.
Research shows that more than half of Britain's fathers had missed milestones including their children's first steps and first words. The survey of over 1000 UK dads of children aged 16 and under, (by OnePoll) revealed that six out of every ten dads are only spending quality time with their children at the weekends due to long working hours and being too tired when they come home from work.
In July 2010 James, (who lives in Chiswick with his wife, journalist and television presenter Beverley Turner and their children) suffered a near-fatal brain injury when he was hit from behind by a truck whilst cycling through Arizona. James and Beverley published a book 'Touching Distance', documenting his recovery and the impact of his accident on their relationship.
The champion rower has tried a change of career from sport to politics recently but lost out to Mayor Boris Johnson to be selected as a candidate for the Uxbridge and south Ruislip constituency in next year's general election. He also tried unsuccessfully to be a candidate for the Conservative Party in the last European Election.