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In a personal column published by PerthNow on 1 September 2024, Adrian Barich reflects on how quickly children grow up and urges parents to cherish ordinary moments of affection. The thought became more immediate when his youngest child joined Western Australia’s fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workforce—a change that also prompted Barich to consider the families who manage long stretches apart.
Why Barich says to hug your children now
Barich’s appeal comes from looking back at small moments that can quietly become memories: a child holding a parent’s hand on the way to school, asking to be picked up, or showing work for a parent to check. He suggests that parents may not know when those familiar routines are happening for the last time.
As he imagines his children eventually leaving home, Barich describes feeling a shiver and anticipating a quieter house. His line—“if you have young kids go and hug them and take a deep breath at the same time, because in what seems like five minutes — poof, they’ll be gone”—is a personal expression of that feeling, not a prediction about when any particular child will grow up or move out.
How FIFO life enters the reflection
Barich’s youngest child joining the FIFO workforce gives the column a new perspective on family separation. FIFO means fly-in fly-out: workers travel to a job site and spend periods away from home. Barich briefly describes his child preparing for work in hi-vis clothing with a helmet, backpack and tools, and mentions a trip involving Qantas and Newman. Those details belong to his account; they do not describe every FIFO job or journey.
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He also writes about speaking with FIFO parents who help their children with homework over FaceTime at least twice a week. That is an anecdote from conversations Barich recounts, not a survey finding or a measure of how often FIFO families generally connect.
Barich’s practical suggestion for supporting FIFO partners
Barich recognizes the demands on partners who handle home and family responsibilities while a spouse is away. He mentions an “eight-day swing” in describing one departure, but the column does not suggest that all FIFO workers follow that roster.
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His community-minded recommendation is specific and simple: keep inviting FIFO workers’ partners to dinners, barbecues and other get-togethers. Rather than relying only on a general offer to help, an actual invitation can make it easier for someone to stay included. As Barich puts it, “Let’s just keep inviting them to dinners, barbecues or any other get together.”
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the column is—and what it isn’t
This is Barich’s first-person opinion column, grounded in his family experience and observations. It is not a parenting guide or a study of FIFO family life. It offers no named statistical findings, compares no roster patterns and does not claim that every family experiences separation in the same way. Its central message is an invitation to notice everyday closeness while it is part of family life, alongside a reminder to include people whose household responsibilities increase when a partner is away.
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