Blogging fatherhood

I'm enjoying a relatively new Age blog, Who's Your Daddy, about being a father and parenting. It gets quite good responses, and Sacha Molitorisz, the journo who got this Age gig, is prepared to talk about things that I'm not to on this blog, yet, like sex during pregnancy and after childbirth, the ups and downs of parenting a young child, and being a father.

I do enjoy finding that other dads have similar approaches as mine, though our perspectives on why differ slightly, and it's good to read another dad's blog – especially one that actively tackles parenting, fathering and children.

I was particularly caught by this post reflecting on an encounter where another father warned Sacha against letting his young toddler daughter play naked at the beach for fear of paedophiles photographing her:

'As a parent,' I said, 'you're always on the lookout for danger, whether it's big dog dog or a big wave or a pervert with a camera. But you can't live your life in fear that something bad might happen. You can't stop going to the beach because there might be a big dog, or a big wave, or a pervert. Otherwise the bad guys win and the kids and the good guys lose.'

I had the same concerns when my eldest was a baby/toddler – I wanted him to be able to enjoy the freedom and exuberance of playing naked on the beach, yet worried if I was being in lax in my vigilance against dangers, or worried if I was worrying needlessly. Nice to see it put so well.

Reflecting on this further, what I find intriguing is the number of men who participate in this blog - who comment on the posts and pass on their perspectives on everything from techniques to get babies to sleep, to parenting models, and personal experiences of fathering. Obviously, there are many men out there who are very keenly involved in parenting their young children, and have taken the experiences of fathering – both the negatives and positives – to heart. Wow.

[Image: one of mine from our camping trip to Wilsons Prom last January]