Autumn 2011 - Mandy Mazliah

Raising children
Why I’m proud to be a stay-at-home dad
things and I want to be there more
for him. I reckon it will be lots of fun
watching him grow and develop.
There’s no doubt that our finances
will be tighter. Losing a salary seems
a drastic step, as I’m sure it does
for a lot of couples. However, it
isn’t as crazy as it first sounds even
though I’m on a relatively good
wage. The childcare centre where
we were thinking of sending Jonah
for five days a week came to £1000
a month. That’s a lot to take out of
a salary and, combined with other
savings, we won’t be much worse off
than if I’d stayed at work. If time (and
Jonah) permits, I might even try to
do some work from home and bring
in a little income.
Nick Wilkins is one of a
growing number of men who
are giving up work to look
after their children…
A stay-at-home-dad, house-husband,
call me what you will, but the fact is
that in a few months I will be the one
staying home to take care of my little
boy, Jonah. Oh and of course I will
be running the household too. His
mum will go back to work full-time
after taking care of him for the first
14 months of his life.
Taking time out of my professional
life to look after my child was not
something necessarily in my career
plan. However, as time marched
on and circumstances at work
changed I felt I was looking for a
different challenge. I also saw how
much my wife was enjoying looking
after Jonah (OK, so the first few
months were pretty tough but we
got through). As Jonah grows he
is always doing different, exciting
We have only recently decided that
this will happen, so we haven’t told
too many people yet. I’m sure my
friends will be supportive. My family
were a bit surprised but supportive.
What am I looking forward to the
most? Simply the chance to be
there for all the simple things like
his first steps or his first climb on
the toy train at the park. I am seeing
this as a great, once-in-a-lifetime
opportunity to spend this time with
Jonah, getting to know him in all
aspects – how he likes to nap (or
not!), whether he likes finger painting
or playdough best, and what makes
him laugh and jump around. I’m
looking forward to finding out what
type of person he is becoming
- is he shy and a quiet thinker?
A boisterous, outgoing child? Or
somewhere in-between? Obviously
staying home is not the only way to
get to know your child and I do know
him pretty well already but I really
am looking forward to spending
more time with him.
14 Newsletter Winter