Brilliant Dad  Feature  Week 103 

This week our Brilliant Dad Feature is one of my favourite dad bloggers! He’s been blogging 10 years which is an awesome achievement. I’m very happy to say that it’s Tim Liew from Slouching Towards Thatcham. Big thank you to Tim for taking part.

Tim is a father of three and master of none, forever stuck somewhere in the mid-1980s, probably a Thursday. A social media manager by day, when he isn’t spending time with his family he’s writing about them on his blog or talking about them as the host of the Meet the Parents podcast.

1. Have you always wanted to be a dad? 

Yes. I always wanted kids, although we had to wait a few years longer than planned before they arrived. I always thought we’d have two but we ended up with three because that’s what my wife wanted. No regrets, though. Having had two boys initially, having a daughter really has felt like it has completed our family.

2. How did you feel when your children were born?

First time around with Isaac, it was as terrifying as it was exhilarating. Second time around I’m not sure I had time to feel anything, as I delivered Toby myself on our living room floor.

With Kara, I was actually a bit nonplussed. The boys had both been born at home and Kara would have been too had Heather’s waters not broken while she was having a check-up at the hospital. Having been so involved in both boys’ births, to be shunted off to the side while the hospital staff did all the work left me feeling quite deflated. I wanted to say, “Hello? I’ve done this before too. What can I do?” I’m not great at just twiddling my thumbs at the best of times.

3. What have been the most rewarding experiences been so far?

Too many to mention! In no particular order: Waking up in the morning to find that Kara has crept into our bed and wrapped her arms around me. Toby’s Cheshire cat grin when he’s showing off his latest Lego masterpiece. Isaac’s obvious pride in his academic achievements. It’s the little things, really. It’s a cliché, I know, but just watching them grow and develop is its own reward.

4. What are some of the funniest moments to have happened to you as a dad?

Good God, where do I start? Particularly over the last year or so, many of our funniest moments involve music. Whether it’s the kids attempting to harmonise to a Bruno Mars song in the back of the car or Toby’s penchant for reinventing song lyrics in a comedy style – he truly is the son of a parody songwriter! – or Kara’s habit of randomly singing a couple of lines of Adele’s Set Fire to the Rain as she wanders around the house, many of the laughs in our house seem to involve singing, even if it does sound more like the proverbial strangled cat than a gospel choir.

5. Have there been any situations with your children that you found difficult to cope with? 

We recently had a death in the family. Explaining to one of your children what death entails and watching their face as they process that information and it slowly dawns on them that one day death will inevitably occur both to us and to them is tough. It makes you want to cocoon them in their innocence and insulate them from all the sadness that life must inevitably bring.

6. What are your dreams and hopes for your children?

Nothing specific but I’d want them each to feel comfortable with being whatever they want to be, regardless of our expectations or the expectations of others. I’d hate to think they felt compelled to conform to society’s norms at the expense of being happy. It would be boring if they turned into carbon copies of either their mother or me – I’d feel I’d failed as a parent if that’s all they were. I’d love it if they ended up being something we’d never have imagined for them ourselves.