It was Sue Atkins that said “There is no such thing as a perfect parent. So just be a real one.” I can remember the day we brought our little boy back home. I put him down in his car seat in the centre of our living room. We stood back, stared and thought “what the hell do we do?”

I don’t think you can prepare yourself for that moment. Recent research from the Post Office suggests that 43% of people also worry about not knowing how to parent a baby. 40% also worry about germs. This is one thing I’ve never really worried about though as I believe a little bit of muck here and there builds up their immune system!

46% of parents worry about freak accidents happening and I still worry about it. That’s probably why 42% worry about childproofing their homes!

I don’t think I really had any worries before I became a parent. Amy was a high-risk patient so I guess my worries at that time were her and the baby. Thankfully the birth went to plan so I could start worrying about everything else!

My first hiccup was holding Adam in my arms, I stood up and walked to the kitchen. Thankfully someone was there to warn me that his head was sticking out further than my arm. I would’ve literally smacked his head off the door frame! From this point, I started panicking about other things.

Becoming a parent for the first time definitely changed my outlook on life. I’d never really worried about money or providing until I had a family. I didn’t realise it at the time but I wasn’t alone. I told a close friend I had this feeling I was going to die young and that my worst nightmare would be my kids growing up without me being around. The more people I told, I realised it was their nightmare too.

From this point, I wanted to start living a healthier life. This was the main reason I created Father Fitness. I thought if I started going to the gym more and watching what I was eating, surely it would add years to my life rather than take them away.

At this time I was worrying about my health, my wealth and also not being around. I think it was these things (along with a minor health scare), that made me take a calculated risk and go self-employed. It was a really difficult time for me but I knew if I kept going, things would eventually settle down and they thankfully did.

My advice to young parents is to not stress on the little things. It’s fine to have a messy house and it’s fine to not worry about what other people think of your parenting style. As your children get older, you’re going to want to pick your battles carefully too. It doesn’t matter that they want to wear different socks to the ones you’ve put out for them. Starting your day off with a battle like this, doesn’t make for a great day ahead.

Whichever way you decide to be a parent, don’t worry about being a perfect one. Just be a real one.

Thanks for reading,

*Disclaimer: This was a collaborative post with the Post Office. All words and opinions are my own.