Who's the Daddy: Time flies in the blink of an eye

Ostensibly about raising kids, if you’re looking for tips on parenting then I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. If anything, Who’s The Daddy? is an anti-parenting column. If I were you I’d take any advice you read here and do the exact opposite.

By sheer fluke we’ve raised two daughters from babies to young adulthood by making it all up as we go along. There is no plan. That’s right, same as everybody else. We bumble along from day to day, doing the best we can, hoping we’re doing a good job.

When this column began in October 2006, the editor at the time wanted to inject some humour into the paper. And for some reason asked yours truly if I fancied writing a column about family life. So I wrote one. And then about 700 more. And here we are today. Our kids were six and four back then and now they’re 20 and 18. I cannot believe where the time has gone.

Part of its strength, and the main reason it has run for as long as it has without ever running too short of material, is its sheer everyday averageness. I hope everyone who’s ever had kids can nod along to this weekly dose of fecklessness and say, “Yep. Same here.”

But it is weird having four adults in the house and (pre-coronavirus) the ability to do what we want, when we want – work schedules, available funds and tiredness permitting. One of the hardest things is arguing with our kids now they’re adults, and realising part way through that they’re right and you’re wrong.

If you’re yet to reach this moment of clarity when the pecking order changes, enjoy your power while it lasts.

The shutdown of higher education last March was tough to take, our kids’ worlds came tumbling down through no fault of their own. But they’ve done what I never could at their age – rolled up their sleeves, gone out, got jobs and earned a few quid and got on with their lives.

Their mother has taught them well.