DadTalk

Being the perfect parent on the road

The last three months of this round the world trip/full time holiday, where I have had a lot more parenting than usual, have taught me one thing. This thing is that parenting on the road is just like parenting at home, but different.

Just like at home, you swing from love ‘em to wanting to throttle ‘em with shocking regularity. Just like at home, it is a daily struggle of trying to impose your own parental will, while trying to give them the space to be the kids they are. This last point can be summarised as choosing the battles you want to fight, while trying to enjoy / understand the annoying stuff they do.

However the big difference is time. To state the obvious, when you travel with your family you have them 24/7; OK they sleep sometime but you know what I mean. Before we headed off I worried all this time would frankly be unbearable and I would long for the daily escape to the office. Oddly I have not.

At home parenting is set in a rigid routine; get them up and out for school and then the pick-up, feeding, bathing, bed schedule at the end of the day. It’s often hard to find the joy in this rush.

With travelling you get the good bits as well. You have the time to talk, discuss, play and understand.When you have the inevitable fights you have the time to talk it through afterwards.

There has been the odd scary moment when I lose it and shout “I can’t take this anymore!”

The pinch points are the same as at home; you know the stuff, tired children at teatime, bolshie bedtimes. Victoria and I would love the odd day off together and a bit more space.

However we have been hugely fortune in being able to spend this time together. I do realise this type of experience would not work for every parent.But for us, so far, it has been great. We are working together better, enjoying each other’s company, having fun. Let’s hope I can say the same in six months time.