With special guest:
- David Willans
There are changes happening in Western societies that are hard to ignore. Our Dads are getting more involved in one-on-one relationships with their children and if that means reducing the time put into the provider role then that is the price for the modern family.
Our guest today David Willans speaks to us from London and he tells us what led to a decision he made in 2014 regarding a change in his family arrangements. David cannot now even remember what the issue was with his son but he clearly remembers yelling at his then 5 year old. We all know the feeling when you are under pressure and a child seems oblivious. It can be a bit like a kettle reaching boiling point.
On this day two years ago David saw that his young son was being attacked by an angry man that he didn’t recognise as himself. Rather than being the great Dad he had always aspired to be he had become a cross Dad and his 5 year old child did not know how to respond.
As a result of this instant self-realisation David resolved to explore the topic of being a great Dad and so started his blog site Being Dads to get some perspective and wisdom from lots of other Dads. One of the biggest lessons learned was that Dads have to spend more time with their children.
So David took the advice and was able to re-arrange his working hours by setting up his own business. The great news is that “cross Dad” has disappeared from the family and David has resolved to spend as much time with his children as he can during this short period while they are young.
In this interview David distils for us what he has learned both from his own experience in this new paradigm and also he passes on some of the knowledge gained from other Dads with a few surprises along the way.
David Willans
David Willans has qualifications in finance with a BA in Economics and Management from the University of Leeds and a diploma in Financial Management as well as a Masters of Professional Studies from Forum for the Future. He is a marketing and advertising executive and the founder of the blog site Being Dads. David is the father of two boys and lives in London with the boys’ mother who works three days a week as a social worker.
Song selection by our guest: Vehicles & Animals by Athlete