Meet Proud Father Daniel

Proud dad Daniel Jackson didn’t muck around much.

“I would absolutely love to be on the cover of your magazine with my son, Benjamin. I am so glad there is a magazine especially for Dads“ he emailed us. So we thought, alright, he looks like a handsome enough guy, baby’s not too ugly either, so why not—and he scored a free sub to Father&Child as well (okay, pretty pathetic, but that’s all we can afford).

Daniel was 26 when his son Benjamin was born in October 2002. He and girlfriend Lisa got married for the occasion after less than a year of dating. When the news of the pregnancy broke, Lisa was in Australia for a teaching position.

“I worried for a little while”, he says, “how will we do this?? But when I realized I was going to be a father, I was just excited.”

The birth was a mind-blowing event.

“I would not have missed it for the world”, he says.” I had an active role. Nothing was happening [at first] and I suggested she try to squat rather than lie down, and 45 minutes later he was out! I cut the cord and really felt a big part of it all.”

Like many young new dads Daniel found becoming a father a good excuse to start living a more “responsible” lifestyle. “At first not too much changed for me. I was still going out partying, drinking—but gradually changed to be more responsible. I have recently quit smoking, too!” Gambling was another vice he left behind.

“I see myself as a ‘new age’ father.” he says.

Meaning?

“I think dads these days are able to do more of what was seen as the ‘mother’ role without being laughed at by mates.” he explains. “We can be proud to take a major role in the lives of our kids, we can change nappies, clean, play, and still watch footy on the weekend.”

He’s just about gone the whole way, too. Him and Lisa have mostly been operating a shared care arrangement, with both doing casual work for 2-3 days a week while the other looks after Ben. “Some days Lisa has worked full weeks and I have had Ben, which is great. I actually enjoy being a stay-home dad, but we just go with whoever works at the time.”

Provider instincts are alive and well in Daniel, however.

“I would like to save some cash for him. I just don’t want to be struggling, I don’t want to have to tell him we can’t afford things, but at the same time I wouldn’t want him spoilt. I guess I just want us all to be comfortable. If he wants to go to university I want to be able to pay for that education. I just want to be able to give him a fair go.”

Why Dads?