INDEX parenting
Stay-at-home dads’ blogs proving a hit, new fun attraction for all the family, plus nursery expansion and cool clothes
Words Sophie Astin
WHO’S THE DADDY? A
s more women return to the workplace in an effort to help boost the household income or even to swap roles with
their partner, some men have turned to blogging about their experiences of being a stay-at-home dad. And as the number of ‘dad bloggers’ continues to grow, so has the diversity of the topics they cover – a sign of the times perhaps, that men simply want to become more involved in the upbringing of their children. We look at three local dads who each have a unique style to their popular (and in one case, award-winning) blogs.
• When RICKY, AKA ‘SKINT DAD’ realised that he was barely breaking even after paying travel costs to London and childcare, he made the decision to become a stay- at-home dad and started blogging about life on the breadline – or ‘spending less without going without’. It fast became a hit and in the past nine months he has
been featured in The Sun and been offered a regular money-saving column in a local newspaper. There’s not much about money saving that Skint Dad doesn’t know – or blog about – and last autumn he turned his family’s fortunes around by entering a ‘savvy shopper’ competition – and winning £10,000. With blogs about choosing affordable
childcare, feeding the family for a fi ver (or less) – even getting married on a budget, Skint Dad is now shortlisted in Britmums Brilliance in Blogging competition. Visit
www.skintdad.co.uk
• MAT, DAD OF THREE, AKA ‘DADHACKS’ (tips to help you go father!) offers up a well-written, humorous and human outlook on parenting and the myriad of issues that it throws up – sometimes quite literally. He appreciates that dads tend not to talk at length about how the problem makes them feel – “that they would rather
explore its comic potential before giving it a bash with a metaphorical hammer, preferably one that can be bought online or knocked together with duct tape. In other words, they’d rather use a dadhack.” Visit
www.dadhacks.co.uk
• AL, AKA ‘THE DAD NETWORK’ (‘cos Dads have babies too’) only started writing after his wife’s miscarriage last summer. In his blog, Men have miscarriages too, he recognises that dealing with the stressful experience of losing a baby can be just as tough for men and offers up a frank perspective. It’s an emotional blog but Al hopes that by sharing his experiences he can make the topic more accessible for dads. There is a happy ending though – he has blogged regularly throughout his wife’s pregnancy (they are expecting their fi rst baby in July). Visit
www.thedadnetwork.co.uk
RAISING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SUPERHEROS
No one can resist a superhero and Baby Moo’s range of cool baby grows, t-shirts, hoodies and sleepsuits will be sure to brighten up any kid’s wardrobe.
The range, available online The INDEX magazine
www.indexmagazine.co.uk
from
www.babymoos.com, is 100% British and Founder, Anna-Lee Kewley explains: “I feel strongly that while I’m producing fun, comfortable, individual clothes for children, I should also
be doing my bit to help with their future work prospects. We do need to bring more of our business home and help raise a healthy generation of British industry.”
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