Archive for the ‘Fatherhood’ Category
Fatherhood²: Guest Post – Feeding Time at the Zoo
Henry has been asking me to write a blog for ages. I’ve always declined the offer as I’ve really got nothing interesting to say on parenting – plus I’d never written a blog. So it was a teensy bit scary. But I’ve finally thought of something to write about which, if it reassures or helps just one person, then it’s worth the time and effort.
As a new mum I was desperate to breastfeed – after all its what they’re designed for; it’s what the books you read recommend; it’s what the nurses in hospital pushed for; it’s what the midwives visiting the house encouraged and it’s what well meaning family members understood. Child No. 1 had other ideas…
When he was born he wasn’t breathing properly which is apparently quite common with caesarean births. So we had to wait a couple of minutes before he was able to be cuddled. Read the rest of this entry »
Fatherhood²: The Only True Way to Measure Success in Parenting
I don’t think I’m a success at much in life – not yet anyway. Don’t worry, I’m not looking for sympathy or reassuring words here – I’m more than comfortable in my own situation right now. I’m just being a realist.
I’m certainly not a financial success. Hell, my bank manager would probably tell you I’m a financial failure – though I’m reasonably confident that it won’t last forever. I wouldn’t say I’m successful in my career so far either. Sure, I think I’m good at my job – and I really enjoy it. But there are plenty of people of my age who have climbed higher, achieved more and done better. But again, I’m reasonably comfortable with that – there’s plenty of time yet to work on the old corporate ladder.
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Fatherhood²: Mother’s Day – Your 3 Week Warning
With just over 20 days to go until Mother’s Day, it seemed like a good time to send out an early reminder to all the dads out there who – like me – probably leave these things far too late most of the time. I’m not talking about your own mums of course – though remembering them is equally as important. No, I’m talking about the mother in your house.
(Note: I’m obviously directing this post to dads, and making some common assumptions – so please don’t be too offended if you don’t fall in to my over-generalised category here!)
Unless you’re blessed with the sort of creative genes that would make Kirstie Allsopp blush, you might need a few tips on how best to pamper the mother of your child(ren) on March 18th – so here are my Top 5 tips:
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Fatherhood²: Guest Post – Is There a Male Bias to CBeebies?
It's time for Teletubbies - but are they male or female, and does it actually matter?
Question: what have Pingu, Tommy Zoom, Mister Maker, The Koala Brothers and Little Charley Bear all got in common?
Well done if you came up with the answer that they are all the titles of CBeebies’ television programmes.
And you can give yourself an even bigger pat on the back if you identified that they are all male characters – a list featuring female CBeebies’ characters would be considerably shorter.
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Fatherhood²: TV Review – “When a Dad is Born”
I guess it’s probably a sign of how little coverage dads get on TV, but this is the first time I’ve really had call to do a “review” of a dad-related TV show – and may well be the last for a while. So make the most of it… :D
If you didn’t catch the BBC’s ‘Wonderland’ episode last week – “When a Dad is Born”, I urge you to download and watch it. I just did, and it was certainly worth a watch. It will infuritate, amuse and probably perplex you, but I’m glad I took the time to watch it – on several people’s recommendation.
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Fatherhood²: The Book of My Life… Isn’t Out Yet.
Back in November, I made quite an ambitious plan – one which I still have today, though possibly with slightly more realistic timelines… I’m hoping that in 2012 I can finally get something published, and the current plan is for my first release to be related to parenting. You can read all about the original plan here: Fatherhood²: Won’t You Help Me Write My Book? and here: Fatherhood²: Contributors – Choose Your Weapons! but here’s the update of where I am today…
After I laid out my stall with the original post, I had a number of friends and acquaintances come forward offering to write chapters for the book. A few of them have even sent me their chapters already – special thanks to Filipe Cardeira, Oren Miller of “A Blogger and a Father” and Russ Jones, aka “The Stay at Homer“. As for the rest of you, I shall shortly start to pester you – slowly but surely…
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Fatherhood²: Does New Legislation Make Things Fairer for Divorced Dads?
Image courtesy of artist Ingrid Aspöck
However, what I DO firmly believe is that children benefit from having both parents present in their lives – at least assuming both parents are sensible human beings, of course. But defining whether any parents is “fit” to have children is a different issue entirely, so I won’t stray there for now.
As with most people nowadays, I know plenty of people who are either the product of parents who are no longer together, or divorced parents themselves. Luckily, most of them seem to either have coped fine with the childhood experience or are parents who seem to be dealing with the situation reasonably maturely.
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Fatherhood²: 15 Photos Every Lego Fan Will Love (Updated)
UPDATED TO ADD: Check out the AMAZING photo at the bottom of the post, which I added after this post went up – it was too good not to miss!!
As anybody who knows me will attest, I’ve always been a massive Lego fan. Now that I’m a father, my love for the world’s most creative toy has been rekindled, and I’m spending a slightly worrying amount of my time either playing Lego “with” (i.e. long past the time he gets bored!) Robert, or lusting over very expensive models that I can’t afford.
One thing I HAVE discovered – which every Lego-loving dad will appreciate – is that you can now download instructions for thousands of new and old models at the official Lego website. Brilliant news if you, like me, have the pieces for lots of models but not the crucial instructions. Also, and slightly worryingly for me, I’ve discovered that you can order individual pieces from the “Lego brick shop“. I’m now giving serious consideration to downloading instructions for models that I have almost all the pieces for, sorting them out and ordering the leftovers – then having the fun of building the whole thing with Robert. It’s creativity on a budget! Well, sort of anyway…
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Fatherhood²: Sponsorship, Links, Reviews – Where Should Bloggers Draw the Line?
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in the fun situation of having the two things I write most about (parenting and online marketing), converging. Over on the Tamar blog, I wrote a post about how great the BBC were when dealing with the negative feedback they received on their social media profiles (“BBC / Cbeebies in social customer services WIN“) – and now I’m turning the table the other way, as I want to cover some of things we bloggers get asked to do by marketers (like me).
If you’ve ever blogged yourself (so to speak), or even if you’re just a regular reader, you’ll know that there are a number of ways that the corporate world like to get involved with bloggers. Naturally, as a blogger (particularly the popular ones), marketers know that you have a ready-made audience that they’d love to tap in to. So sooner or later, you’re going to be approached by either a savvy PR person, a social media marketer or possibly even a brand themselves, asking you to do something in partnership with them.
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Fatherhood²: There’s No Place for Goodies and Baddies in our House
Here’s a sentence I never imagined I’d say five years ago: I’ve recently been giving quite a bit of thought to the fundamental differences between Thomas the Tank Engine and Chuggington…
Before you start worrying for my sanity, I should clarify – I’m not a train spotter, and haven’t been putting any (okay, much) thought in to the logistics of a train with a face. No, I’m talking about the main differences between the two shows – which might explain why I find one much more preferable than the other.
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