Dads in the Limelight – Andrew Knott, Author of Fatherhood: Dispatches from the Early Years

Our 799th Dad in the Limelight is Andrew Knott, author of Fatherhood: Dispatches from the Early Years. I want to thank Andrew Knott for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing Andrew Knott with all of you.

1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)

My name is Andrew Knott and I have been called Super Dad on multiple occasions because I sometimes take my kids grocery shopping or to the playground by myself. Also, I am often told that I have my hands full.

 

I am a father of three children under age six and I live with my wife, children, and two Chihuahuas in Orlando. I have been mostly a stay-at-home dad since our first child was born in 2011, although I also do freelance and contract writing and editing work when I can. Recently, I’ve worked as a writer and editor in a neuroscience lab at the University of Central Florida and as a reports and grants writer for the Christina Noble Children’s Foundation. I also contribute writing to various online and print publications.

 

Perhaps my biggest claim to fame is that I once mistook a pilot for a hotel concierge and asked him for some pillows and blankets. I still think about that night often. In addition, a few people might recognize my name because they have come across my writing (mostly comedy or parenting and usually both) on websites such as McSweeney’s, Huff Post, Parent.co, Cafe.com, and Medium. I also wrote a book called Fatherhood: Dispatches From the Early Years about, well, the early years of fatherhood. However, if you think you recognize my name from somewhere, but can’t quite place where, you’re likely thinking of the other Andrew Knott who is an actor best known for The Secret Garden. Someone once mistook me for that Andrew Knott on Twitter and it was one of the top five moments of my life.

 

You can read more of my work on my website, www.explorationsofambiguity.com, and I would love to connect on Facebook (www.facebook.com/ExplorationsOfAmbiguity) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/@aknott21) if you are nice.

2) Tell me about your family

My wife, Michelle, is an Assistant Nurse Manager in Labor and Delivery at a hospital in the Orlando area and an all-around amazing person. We have three children—Jacob (5), Bennett (3), and Olivia (1). Some of the boys’ favorite activities include stacking pillows on the couch and jumping off and fighting over who gets to watch them pour milk into their cereal bowls. Olivia mostly enjoys climbing, falling off things, eating, attacking dog food bowls, and saying the word “down.” 

3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
This might be cliché, but the greatest challenge I have faced as a father is the all-consuming nature of parenting young children. It is something you cannot fully understand until you experience it. Between the sleep deprivation and near constant demands, parenting can be a slog. A rewarding slog, but a slog nonetheless. 

4) What advice would you give to other fathers?

While I typically try to avoid giving advice to other parents, my primary piece of non-advice is to find your own way. Don’t try to force yourself to adhere to a pre-conceived image of a what a good parent is or does. And, most importantly, try not to compare your parenting to that of others. If you care enough about being a good dad that you are actively thinking about it and reading websites like these, you are most likely doing just fine. Also, if anyone wants more of my non-advice, I did write a piece about parenting lessons I learned from my mom. 

5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?

It is very much a work in progress. As many moms know (and an increasing number of dads) when parenting is your primary focus, it is almost impossible to not leave other parts of your life behind. For example, any type of cohesive career I might have once envisioned for myself has been on hold for the past five years. And though I struggle at times to achieve balance between family life, work, and other activities, I continue to strive to maintain some sense of self. For example, my writing serves as an important creative outlet. In addition, one of the more frustrating aspects of parenting is that almost everything you do seems to be ongoing and never completed. Thus, for someone like me who enjoys completing tasks, submitting stories, formatting a book, and maintaining a website are satisfying activities because they create a feeling of accomplishment.

 

Also, while I don’t exercise as much as I used to, I try to stay active by getting outside when I can to play tennis. I’m looking forward to sharing tennis and other athletic activities with my children as they grow.

6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?

While I am very social online, I am basically the opposite in real life. So, I don’t have a lot of interactions with other dads. However, I have learned a lot from my dad and my older brother. Their steadiness, even temperament, and relentless reliability has served as a model for my parenting.

 

7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?

There is so much I could say and have already said in my writing, but what I will say here is that being a father has been the most challenging, ridiculous, frustrating, overwhelming, transcendent, and awe-inspiring thing I have ever done.

8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?

This is tricky because my memory of life events is consistently terrible. However, the moments that linger for me are often the most ordinary. For example, I’ve put my 3-year-old to bed almost every night for the past two years or so. For whatever reason, bedtime became our special routine. Each night we gather up his special gray blanket and his milk and we head upstairs to rock in the rocking chair in his room. If I try hard enough, I can still remember when he was small and fit comfortably across my lap. Now, his head covered in shaggy brown curls rests on one arm of the chair and his feet dangle off the other arm. But still, despite everything that has changed, we are still there every night rocking until he drifts off to sleep. 

If you have any questions for Andrew Knott, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!

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