Photo by lucas Favre on Unsplash

10 Essentials for New Dads That No One Tells You

Get these right, and the rest is so much easier

My wife just had our second child a few months ago — 11 years after our first. That kind of time between children really gives you perspective, because as both people and parents, you’ve both matured a lot and hopefully learned many valuable life lessons along the way.

Everything is both new and familiar at the same time, and because you’ve got the distance of time and learning from your mistakes, you can really try and do it better the second time. That’s not to mention that we’re also in a completely different financial position, which changed the game completely.

So with that knowledge and all of it fresh in my mind, I thought I’d put a few ideas out there for the new dads…

Pay for the best health care you can afford

Nowhere was the difference more stark in our two birthing experiences than in the hospital. The first time round, we were in a public hospital. My wife was treated abysmally in many respects, especially by a couple of the midwives, which left lasting psychological trauma. So much so that the idea of another child was a non-starter for many years afterwards.