Fatherhood: The hardest, best job you’ll ever have
Being a father is the most important undertaking a man will ever attempt. It’s also the one we do the least preparation for. We go to school for years and take specialized courses to prepare for our careers. We practice, watch videos and read anything we can get our hands on for our hobbies. But for fatherhood, which lasts a lifetime, we might start preparing for several months before our child is born. After that, it’s pretty much a learn-as-you-go endeavor.
That’s not to say that fathers don’t make use of resources available to them along the way. We’ll talk to our fathers, to other fathers, to mothers and pediatricians for advice. We’ll read books and articles to help us know what to expect and how to handle it. And for the generation of men becoming fathers now, there are lots of fatherhood websites, blogs and apps full of useful information that will help them become the best dad they can be.
Daddilife.com is a website that’s based in the United Kingdom that offers a broad range of good advice and information for fathers, starting at infancy and continuing through the child’s growth. It’s not comprehensive, and would not be the only resource I would recommend, but it covers a lot of territory with articles written in plain English. Some of the articles are a few years old, but a lot of the information regarding being a father is timeless. Some features delve into policies or resources specific to the UK, so they aren’t as relevant to us stateside readers.
The homepage is a collection of featured posts which consist of articles written about various subjects related to being a father. The topics cover a broad range, with posts such as the best Father’s Day gifts, the best gratitude activities for kids, how to rebuild trust in a relationship, poop jokes that kids will find hilarious, intimacy challenges for parents, internet safety, finances and more. Being a dad involves practically every aspect of life, and this site tries to cover as much of it as possible.
You can scroll down the homepage and browse the various articles or you can search for specific subjects by using the navigation bar at the top of the site. There are seven categories in the bar and most of them are broken down into subcategories. The first one is Family, and it’s subcategories include Modern Fatherhood, Trying, Expecting, New Dad, Stay at Home Dad, Separation, Single Dads and Step Dads. The Modern Fatherhood section has an article about the changing expectations today’s fathers face that are different than what was expected of their dads. Most mothers have careers now, and many of them are the breadwinners of the family. As moms have taken on more responsibility for financing the household, dads have taken on more domestic roles, so achieving a work/life balance for all involved is explored. Another article examines how to be a good parent and a good partner with your spouse. There are also a couple articles with inspirational quotes on fatherhood, starting with, “Dad: A son’s first hero, a daughter’s first love.”
The next category is Things To Do. Its subcategories have activities for kids broken down by age, from infancy to 10 plus. The activities cover both the mind and the body, with recommendations for age-appropriate books and physical fun inside and out. The reading posts cover teaching a child to read and the types of books they should progress toward as they get older and become more adept at it. A separate Book Squad section has even more information on books for various ages, including while the baby is still in the womb.
The next section is Health, and that also covers the mental and physical aspects of it. One subcategory deals entirely with dad jokes, with hundreds of eye-rolling examples. Other categories cover fitness, nutrition, safety and wellness. The Lifestyle section has subcategories on work/life balance, money, education, sports and gear. Sometimes the site gives general information on useful gear parents should have for different stages in a child’s life and other times it has reviews on specific products. Many of these are in a separate category labeled Reviews. The last section is Dads At Work. It looks at topics such as parental leave and balancing work responsibilities with child rearing, case studies of how other parents manage, articles that answer questions about working while parenting and mentoring programs.
Daddilife does a good job of covering the basics of fatherhood, with some areas covered more in-depth than others. It’s well designed and easy to navigate. The ads are a little intrusive, but not so much that it ruins the browsing experience. All in all, it’s worth a visit if you’re a dad with questions. Happy Father’s Day!