Ben’s Musings

I enjoyed this honest and funny account of modern fatherhood by Phil Hilton in The Independant today.

I particularly liked the image of Dads racing home after work, trying to get past one another in the belief that the other dads are doing better than them!

So what does it take to be a SuperDad? There are no real conclusions, but some good pointers. Here are some good quotes from the article:

“Child-rearing has become a scientific project. Children don’t grow up; we feel we have to bring them up and raise them. We are very competitive and we want to give our children the best ever. In the past, before we adopted a scientific model, parenting was about children fitting into our lives.”

“I need answers; I need to know what the hell quality time really is, and I need to know exactly how much I’m supposed to deliver every week. I’m a man; I want targets, measurable targets”

“So I’m building a better understanding of quality time, but now I need to know which method works best – should I be child-centred or middle-aged man-centred?”

“Looking deep into my son’s eyes, I tell him he can pick something to do on Sunday that he’d enjoy and that Daddy wouldn’t normally want to do. My face is filled with optimism for our future and eager curiosity as to his choice. “I could hit you in the penis with a baseball bat,” he responds and falls about laughing.”

I just came across this film called Being Dad. It looks like a wonderful affirmation of fatherhood including the fear, joy, humour, and inexperience of becoming a dad. I’d love to see the whole film - nudge nudge Mary-Lou! Here’s the trailer:

Since I saw the teaser for the upcoming film 2012 I’ve been excited. Then the trailer came out and it looks awesome! However, this trailer sums up the film well enough if you haven’t heard about it yet: