Who’s your daddy blogger?

When I was asked by BritMums to come along and be a token dad for a monthly guest spot, who was I to say No? It’s both an honour and a privilege, plus I was also being threatened with a rolling pin. My own, I hasten to add. The brief sounded simple enough: Compile and post a Monthly Best of the Dad Blogs.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realised it wasn’t such a simple task. I’m in contact with a few dozen Dad Bloggers, and they all, to a man, deliver quite brilliant, original, funny, insightful and wise posts every week, and often most days. How to whittle those posts down to a six each month has got the old bum squeaking. And anyway, what qualifies me to do it in the first place? Well, nothing, really, other than the fact that I’m a stay-at-home-day to three children (aged 10, seven and four) and that I’ve been blogging about family life (and food) at www.reluctanthousedad.com for more than a year. Plus I’ve got nothing better to do. Regardless, it’s my space and I’ll try if I want to, so each month I’m going to introduce you to six dads you may or may not have heard of, plus a link to one of their posts from the month.

HimUpNorth is the Garry, the daddy of dad bloggers. OK, OK, he’s at least ten years younger than me, and even though he’s only been blogging a year longer, what marks him out as a veteran is the sheer variety of his posts and the consistency and quality of his writing. He’s passionate about music, writes a weekly 100-word story-ette (sic!) and shares his views on everything from parenting to politics to popular culture. Now he’s put all that wisdom to good use with a brand new link-up called Crowdsourced Sundays a little gem of genius in its simplicity. Each week, Garry will prompt us disciples with a photo theme – he did it recently with wacky egg cups – and then post it on his blog to be shared and enjoyed by others. Eggs-citing, innit?

MutteringsOfAFool is in fact Ben Tipping, dad of a one year-old, and soon-to-be second-time dad. He writes about fatherhood, running, feeding his family (and his face) and just generally being a very decent down-to-earth guy. The lucky – and brave – bugger and his wife took their daughter Tilly for a backpacking tour of New Zealand last year. Madness! I love this entry – A Family Story – he linked to Tara Cain’s Sticky Fingers’ Gallery. Ever struggled with a child’s pushchair? Then read this.

SAHDandProud is a stay-at-home-dad to two little darlings. And he’s proud of it. Spencer’s posts are quickly becoming the crack-cocaine of the parenting blogosphere. He writes with searing honesty about battling with depression, the pending end of his marriage, conflicts with his mother and the frustrations and fun of being a housedad. As well as being a quite magnificent ranter of the first order. But it’s not the subject matter that makes him remarkable: it’s the way he tells ‘em. He describes himself as ‘Not a writer’. Well, you could have fooled me and his growing army of followers. Until the end of February he’s running one of the most creative Meme going – Around The World In 80 Words. There are some great link-ups on his site, covering everywhere from Corsica to India to his latest excursion, Royston!  But in this post – Where Have I Gone Wrong? – he is writing about the worries of dealing with his fussy eating son, a subject we can all relate to.

Hubby’s Home is Dave Fower, 42 year-old dad for four. He’s making a fine fist of doing what I’m endeavouring to do this year: juggling making a living with all the demands of childcare. His site is all about motivation, whether it’s earning or losing weight. Dave is a Regimental Sergeant Major of a man, barking orders of encouragement to get you focused, whatever your challenge. In this post, Dave offers us owners of love handles the promise of a six-pack. All we have to do is commit to one meal a day, and Hey Presto! I’m sure it works for women, too.

OnlyDads Bob Greig is a single dad to two beautiful daughters. He’s also one of the nicest guys around. But having gorgeous daughters and being a decent fella aren’t Bob’s only talents – he’s also the co-founder of the single parents’ websites OnlyDads and OnlyMums and blogs about the issues that inflame his passions. In this post, he discusses the brutaility with which couples end relationships. In this post – Becoming a Single Parent: A snapshot – he gives us a glimpse into his life as a single dad – three days after he became one.

FilesandRecords is John Clayton, a father of five who lives on the rock in the middle of nowhere, otherwise known as the Shetland Isles. He’s one of the friendliest, warmest guys around, despite living in the cold and dark for half the year! In this post – Timekeeping as a Parent – he celebrates that masochistic joy we have all experienced as a dad or mum aka how kids’ relationship with time is a whole lot different to ours. Sadly, I don’t have room for more recommendations – but dads be warned: I’ve subscribed (and if I haven’t let me know who you are) and I’m watching – and you WILL be included in future round-ups. So let’s show the mums what they’ve been missing! Sex Wars. You can’t beat ‘em. Unless you’ve got a very big stick!

Any other dad bloggers we missed? Let us know below and we’ll check you out.

About Keith Kendrick

In July last year, my wife and I swapped roles after I was made redundant. I made hundreds of attempts to find another job as a manager but failed, so my wife gave up being a full-time mum and went out to work. I started writing my blog as a chronicle of life-change and how I cope with being a very reluctant housedad to my nine-year-old stepdaughter and our two sons, aged six and three, and how my Successful Other Half copes with the fallout.

• Mail
|
• Web
|
• Twitter
|
• More Posts(3)