Our 837th Dad in the Limelight is Kevin Smallwood of Dad on Arrival. I want to thank Kevin Smallwood for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing Kevin Smallwood 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 Kevin Smallwood. I’m a senior SysAdmin for CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield for the last 10 years, and have been in IT for just over 20 years. I’ve recently co-founded a new dad blog focusing on being a geeky dad and sharing my interests and hobbies with my kids called Dad on Arrival. My other dad on the site, Stephen McCoy, is a historian, and provides the geeky interests side from a non-technical point of view.
2) Tell me about your family
My wife Autumn is a stay-at-home mom. Our daughter Gray is 4 going on 14, and our son Kellan will be two in May.
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
Being an “older” dad (my daughter was born just a few months after my 40th birthday), I discovered exactly why younger people have kids. It takes a LOT of energy and the ability to go long periods without sleep. Thankfully, my experience in IT and being on-call prepared me for long sleepless nights.
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
Be patient, be firm, be funny. And if that doesn’t work, make sure you have lollipops. Also, be as engaged and involved with your kids as much as possible. You’ll learn from them as much as they can learn from you, and your spouse will appreciate the help.
5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?
Still kind of trying to figure that out. One thing my wife and I do is to try and have at least one “adult” night out each month, more if we can get a sitter. I also get out of the house with friends at least once or twice a month, just as my wife also gets a “girls night” with her mom friends a few times a month.
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
That there’s a right way and a wrong way to be a dad.
7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
Being a dad is the most difficult and most rewarding job I’ve ever had, and I wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Guiding them through exploring the world around them is amusing and fascinating.
8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
There really are far too many, and I think the most memorable experience is yet to come – when we take the children to Disney World for the first time this fall. But until then, one of the most memorable experiences that I have had was the day my daughter (2 1/2 at the time) met her brother for the first time after he was born. She held him with very little prompting of how to hold him – she was a natural at it. She called him “her baby” and has been a huge help from that day forward. Kellan looks up to his sister and idolizes her to this day, and that strong bond between the two is amazing.
If you have any questions for Kevin Smallwood, 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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The post Dads in the Limelight – Kevin Smallwood of Dad on Arrival appeared first on Dad of Divas.