The benefits of reading time with Dad

As a working Dad it's not as easy to bond with your child as it is for the Mother, simply because you're spending less time with them. It's important to recognise that it's going to be a little harder to bond with your child though, and then work a little bit harder at it rather than ignore it and watch the gap develop. There's a lot of talk about the bond between Mother & Child is as strong as they come and there is no denying that. It's heartwarming to watch. A Mother creates life, nurtures it and spends every second for 9 months living as one. The child feels the Mother, hears the Mother whether they're working, home or sleeping. The Father doesn't have that luxury and needs to find a way of achieving that bond. There are many ways of going about this, I'm sure but me personally... I turned to books. I read.

During my wifes pregnancies, I read to the bump at bedtime as often as I could. I read to our unborn children to get into the habit of bedtime reading for later life but also to make sure they were hearing my voice on a regular basis. During the first week our first born was at home, I soothed his stressed wailing by reading to him and for me, that made all of those moments where I felt silly reading to a belly button worth it. He knew my voice, and he knew it because I'd read to him in that same calming tone for months before he was even born.

As my children grow, I will continue reading to them in hope of solidifying the bond between Father & Child. My wife is a stay at home Mother and as such, spends a lot more time with both of our children and bonds with them in many ways every day of the week. I work shifts and often long and unsociable hours and as a result, I have to work that little bit harder to achieve the desired bond when I do get the chance to be home with them. Again, I turned to books. I read. After bathing Clayton, I sit down quietly and I read him his bedtime stories. It's a great way to spend one on one time with your child. Clayton is 15 months old and much like any other toddler, spends the day running from wall to wall covering himself and anything in his path with snot, drool and that sticky substance only toddlers seem to secrete from their pores! His life is a constant blur of chaos from the moment he wakes until I've wrestled him into his pyjamas after bathing him. From that moment onwards though, is a very special window in time and is perhaps the most important for a reading Dad when attempting to bond with his child. I pick up a book, turn the page and that starts a 20 minute period where he will sit quietly, still and take in every word I say. It's a magical 20 minute period where I can open his mind, eyes, heart and fuel his dreams before bed. No matter how chaotic the day has been, or how present I've been... the importance of those 20 minutes is huge, because in that moment, we are bonding.

As a working Dad, it's not always easy to bond with your child. It's important to recognise that it's going to be a little harder to bond with your child though, and then work a little bit harder at it rather than ignore it and watch the gap develop. There are many ways of going about this, I'm sure but me personally... I turned to books. I read.

Note: I am working alongside the Daddy Cool Project and was asked to write to the given title used for this post. I received nothing in return for publishing the post, but did so because the cause they're fighting for and the ethos they live by is one worth supporting. Visit them here.