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Diary of the Dad

Parenting

To eff is human – but swearing in front of kids won’t do

By Tom on Friday, June 11, 2021
A cartoon-style speech bubble with random characters to denote swearing.

I’ve changed a lot since becoming a parent. One of the many ways in which I have relates to my language. And, yes, I’m mostly talking about swearing in front of kids. Before having children, I was quite the potty mouth. Even in the early years of parenting, I was pretty liberal with my lingo …

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TV

Five kids’ TV shows I actually enjoy watching

By Tom on Friday, June 4, 2021
A Clangers toy holding a remote control.

I was checking the downloads on our Sky box the other day and made a surprising discovery. Not the fact that most of them were kids’ TV shows – that was always going to be a given. No, the thing that stopped and made me think was that there were actually a fair few that …

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Parenting

The good side effects of parenting

By Tom on Thursday, May 27, 2021
A child's handprints on a wooden groyne on a beach.

I had my first Covid jab a couple of weeks ago and have to admit I was a little nervous. Not because of needles, you understand. I have asthma and, as a result, have to get a flu jab every year so I’m very used to them. No, it was because of potential side effects. …

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Family life

Kids’ things that give me the creeps

By Tom on Thursday, May 20, 2021
A man who has clearly been given the creeps by a large doll in the background.

I have three kids, so I’ve seen things that can’t be unseen. You might think, therefore, that I don’t scare easily. Mostly, you’d be right. I can watch things like The Walking Dead with a freakishly placid demeanour, for example. However, there are some kids’ things that give me the creeps. Here are a few …

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Family life

I’ve become the parenting equivalent of VAR

By Tom on Wednesday, May 12, 2021
A mock VAR screen showing a parenting decision being made.

VAR: what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Well, that’s what I thought at first and there aren’t many football fans who are too enamoured of it. However, recent parenting experience has given me a hint of sympathy for the beleaguered decision-making system. I’ll get to my reasons shortly. But first, the context. As a …

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Family life

Animals according to my five-year-old

By Tom on Tuesday, May 4, 2021
A newt with a speech bubble saying "Strewth!" Animals according to my five-year-old.

Youngest has always been a very knowledgeable little girl and, with two older siblings always talking about things they’re interested in, she knows way more than they did at the same age. Speaking of which, it’s quite arresting when she comes out with something that reminds us that she is still just five years old. …

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Family life

Four times my kids parodied me via the medium of art

By Tom on Friday, April 23, 2021

As a dad of three and with over ten years’ parenting experience, I have a huge collection of drawings of myself. That may sound really narcissistic, but it’s not meant to. I treasure these works of art because my children produced them especially for me. That said, I do sometimes wonder whether they’re gently taking …

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Family life

Lockdown is enabling my middle-aged tendencies

By Tom on Thursday, April 15, 2021
A Scrabble set with the word 'lockdown' created with the tiles.

Last year, I wrote a post about starting to feel old before my time. Back then, I wasn’t sure whether lockdown had played a part but now I am. Eight months on and still restricted to the confines of home, I definitely feel that lockdown is enabling my middle-aged tendencies. The Easter holidays have made …

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Home and garden

Time to make our house our own

By Tom on Tuesday, March 30, 2021
A paint roller in front of a wall.

Disclosure: This is a paid collaboration with The Paint Shed. We’ve been in our ‘new’ home for just over a year now so it’s time to finally make our house our own. So far, we’ve redecorated the bedrooms but two big jobs remain. For ‘remain’, read ‘were ignored in the ridiculous hope they’ll miraculously do …

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Education

I’m not ready for my son to start secondary school

By Tom on Wednesday, March 24, 2021
A child in a secondary school library.

Somehow or other, oldest is starting secondary school in just six months. He has a place at our first choice and we’re impressed by what we’ve heard about it so far. But I’m so not ready for him to move up from primary school! As soon as he got his place, my own experiences of …

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About me

I'm Tom Briggs. A proud dad of three and, somehow or other, the writer of a multi-award-winning dad blog.

I've been writing Diary of the Dad since 2010 and, despite being a pensioner in blogging terms now, still have the same enthusiasm for it as I did when I wrote my first post. I hope you enjoy reading my musings as much as I do writing them.

If you're a journalist looking for a dad's point of view, you may want to check my As seen in page.

Similarly, if you're a PR or brand, please visit my Work with me page.

Finally, if you want to get in touch with me, my email address is: tom@diaryofthedad.co.uk

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Recent posts
Some children's fridge magnets showing two cartoon dinosaurs with clouds positioned under their tails and the word "parp!" written in colourful letters.

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