I want you to think of the world of business and commerce. I’m not talking small and medium sized businesses, I mean big companies from UK PLC, those in the FTSE 100. I’m now going to set you a challenge. Can you name one male figure from the world of big business who has taken a period of shared parental leave following the birth or adoption of a child? You can’t? Me neither.
“What about the loss of identity when you become a dad?” This question was posed to me by a chap who was just about to become a father. I was flummoxed by the question at first. There were all manner of issues he could have asked, but whether he’d have an identity crisis was not top of my list.
Being a parent is a funny old game. Just last night I found myself watching television with the kids. It was a show almost 25 years old that I avoided in my youth because I thought it was dire. Second time around, it had me laughing out loud. I think I have no choice but to add this show to my expanding list of guilty pleasures, pleasures I have been introduced to because I am a father.
The video game Fortnite has attracted a lot of publicity recently. My eldest daughter, Helen, who is on the cusp of turning 10, was adamant she didn’t want to play it because of an incident involving another kid. She then discovered the game features some popular dance moves. Having learned of this and loving to dance, she recently sidled up to me and asked if I would buy it for her. The first thing I did was take a look at the PEGI age rating and I was very surprised to discover it was 12 years of age.
I started a little something on Twitter the other day. I ran a poll asking whether people think it’s acceptable to use their phones to take photographs in schools and childcare settings.
