Our 858th Dad in the Limelight is Don Williams. I want to thank Don Williams for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing Don Williams with all of you.
- Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)
I’m Dom Williams and I have recently written and produced a new kids TV show called Sunny Bank Allotments (www.sunnybank.tv). I was inspired to do this after finding out my wife and I were having our first child, I wanted to produce something that my little boy would enjoy in his early years and then grow up to be proud of in later life. The names of the main characters, Barney and Pippa, were the names we’d chosen for our baby before we found out what gender he was going to be.
Producing this show fitted in really nicely with my day job, where I run a group of media companies, in the UK. One of the companies manages music royalties for recording artists, another is a talent agency for actors and most recently we’ve launched a production company arm, through which we produce Sunny Bank Allotments.
2) Tell me about your family
My wife Jenny is amazing. We’ve been married four years and she makes me really happy. As one of my closest friends put it “she balances me out” – meaning that she knows how to manage me!
We have a little boy called Barney and he’s very cheeky and the inspiration for our TV show Sunny Bank Allotments. As a family we love being outdoors, whether camping, going to the park or digging down at our allotment. Barney is never happier than when he is covered in mud!
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
Having a child has changed my life completely. I am obsessed with every new thing he does and it’s made me re-prioritize my whole life. My biggest challenge was that Barney was never that great at sleeping and I am pretty useless unless I get 8 hours solid sleep a night! I had very high expectation about how much I was going to be able to do and realistically free time is now at a premium. Thankfully he’s finally started sleeping through more regularly and I feel like a new man!
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
3 things:
- That all babies are different, there’s no quick fix rule or solution to make parenting easier. Tiny humans are complicated.
- Don’t try to hang on to how you lived your life before kids. Having a baby will turn everything upside down so just embrace that and you’ll realise just how much better life is with a small person!
- And most importantly sleep whenever you can – see above! Everything is harder when you’re tired.
5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?
I have been really lucky in that as I run my own companies I have been able to adjust my hours so I can maximize the time I spend with Barney. I now work 4 days a week so I have a special Daddy/ Barney Day every week to look forward to. I’ve also shifted my working pattern as I was getting up at 5am everyday anyway so decided to go into the office early so I could get home in time for bedtime every night.
It has been a struggle at times, especially when trying to fit in socializing as well, but, for me, it’s been about prioritizing spending as much time with my little man as possible.
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
One thing that I wasn’t expecting to hear about from my friends with children of their own was how annoying children’s TV shows could be! It hadn’t really even factored into my consciousness before Barney came along that children’s TV shows were anything other than mindless fun. However, a couple of Dads I know mentioned that the TV shows their kids were interested in drove them absolutely wild! Silly storylines, annoying characters and stereotypes of Dads was something they mentioned. That was what originally got me thinking about writing my own show. I wanted there to be a program Barney could watch that would reflect the interests of the children I knew – the outdoors, growing things and nature, as well as promoting family values.
7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
Life seems to have flown by since the birth. The cliché of it being like a rollercoaster is apt. I’m fortunate that Jenny is great at getting lots of photos, that means you get to catch your breath (when he’s asleep) and look at all the wonderful family experiences you’ve had. So that’s another bit of advice too – get lots of photos and try and capture all those wonderful memories
8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
The most memorable experiences are the ones involving a first for Barney. The first time he tried a new food, his first steps or seeing the ocean for the first time. He’s got such a big smile and an expressive face that when those things happened his reaction was priceless.
If you have any questions for Dom Williams, 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 – Dom Williams appeared first on Dad of Divas.