Day of a Dad

In honour of Father's Day, Head Trainer at ROWBOTS and Dad, Hendrick Famutimi, talks us through a typical day as a dad.

"During lockdown, I had the privilege of putting my kids to bed and waking up to see them. I don’t get to do this at all until the weekend as I work full time. 

I have two boys, 3 and 6. My 3 year old does NOT like being referred to as the baby and my 6 year old thinks he is 14. 

I believe two weeks into lockdown, I really got to grips with how challenging this will all be. Let me run you through what a typical day would look like.

My 3 year old will wake up first say around 6am (if I am lucky) and demand his iPad and orange juice. At this point, I have to negotiate with him, while half asleep that water is his better choice. 

I get back to bed and then there’s a “Dadddddddy…. Dadddyyyy” as I answer and approach, he can’t find his toy car and so we spend 10-15 minute looking for it. At this point, any plans for getting back into bed are out the window.

I will make youngest son his breakfast and at this point my oldest son is up and now he wants his iPad and orange juice and again, I have to convince him that water is what you want. 

Breakfast is made for both kids and we spend 4-6 hours doing home learning. I tend to focus on my youngest sons alpha phonics and alphabet and with my oldest son, we work on double figures adding, subtracting, multiplication, dividing, fractions and more. I never knew how hard teaching was and I only have two kids! I do not want to imagine how 20 plus would feel like in an actual classroom.

Half way in-between home schooling, we would have lunch and this is the true test of patiences. The floor and table eats more than they do because the food just goes everyone, but in their mouths. I also become a toy with a string at the back that says the same thing over and over again….. EAT YOUR FOOD! If I had £1 for every time I have said this over lockdown, I could have bought a Lamborghini. 

Once school is over, we go outside to play sports (mainly football) and this could go left or sometimes right. My two boys are VERY competitive. They hate to lose and it tends to end with one of them crying from losing. Whether its sunny or rainy, we are outside and they both know how wind me up. They gang up on me, rub mud on my trousers and love to run away from me laughing when I get annoyed and angry.

When we get back in, they get time to chill out on their iPad while I spend time with the Mrs. Dinner is made and again, the floor has more food than their mouths. 

When it's time for bed, this should be a sports event. They like to hide… why? Who knows? They like to fight over who’s looking in the mirror to brush their teeth although it is  big enough for both of them. 

They get into bed, dressed in their PJ’s and I have got to read 3 bedtime stories. They want one each and another together. When they both fall asleep, I slowly and quietly step out of their room and the slightest noise wakes them up asking… “Daddy… can you stay until I fall asleep please?”"

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