Some Other Dad is a totally open, raw and honest account of another person’s journey through parenthood.
Here, you’ll get regular posts on the issues affecting us as modern parents, through the perspective of some other dad (that being me). You’ll be sent a fresh dollop of Some Other Dad (hopefully) once a week, usually every Friday.
By joining me here and subscribing to Some Other Dad, you’ll get these five things:
Permission to let the mask slip
I want to venture beyond the veneer of perfection that so many of us parents feel pressured by society to display at all times. I want to let you in on the really hard days, as well as the really good ones, and show you that the people who you see in the playgrounds and baby groups who you think have it all sussed, really don’t. They’re just like us - constantly winging it and doing the best they can.
Conversations deeper than a puddle
Too often amongst parents, the “Alright, how’s it going?” that starts every encounter quickly trails into a chat about how the kids are doing. Even if it’s asked again more earnestly (and this is especially true with dads), you’ll get a sigh and then a “Yeah, not too bad.” By being open and honest myself, I want to create a space where both dads and mums feel like they have the time and opportunity to truly talk about how they’re feeling about parenthood, and what’s really up.
An excuse to laugh even when things are going badly
When we’re in the middle of a three-hour put-down with an overtired toddler or overstimulated to the point we want to eat our own faces, those feelings of intense frustration are real. But I always find that finding humour in something after enough time’s passed can help us process it, and look at it differently. Sometimes in the face of the absolute chaotic shit-show that parenting can be, laughter’s all we’ve got.
A voice you can actually relate to
There’s loads of great parenting resources out there, no doubt about it. But in my opinion, a lot of what gets pushed up the social media algorithms is overly-prescriptive, humble-braggy, trite, and sanitised to the point it no longer resembles reality. I’m sure it gets pushed high on people’s feeds because lots of people like it and are helped by it, and that’s great for them. But I also think there’s a lot of other parents that feel alienated by it. It doesn’t talk our language. I want to change that by creating content that those people feel like they can relate to. Sure, you might pick up something from someone along the way that might help—but there’s no dead-cert correct methods of parenting being preached here.
Other people going through the same thing as you
In the few years I’ve been a parent, the thing that’s helped me through the really tough days and weeks more than anything else was knowing that I wasn’t doing it alone. Just hearing other people’s accounts of the same kind of stuff that I was dealing with, and how they dealt with it, validated my emotions; made me feel acknowledged. If that has helped you as well, or if you think it might, you’re in the right place.
That all sounds good—show me it!
Of course! You can take a look in the Some Other Dad archive—the last two month’s worth of essays are free to read.
While you’re there, take a look at the comments section of each post for a taste of the community that’s growing here, made up of parents, grandparents, caregivers and parents-to-be—sharing their thoughts and experiences of raising children in the world today. You can be part of that too.
What do I have to do to get all that?
Our free time as parents is very short, and I’ve already taken up plenty of it. So here, let me help. To get all that, simply click the button below:
By subscribing, you’ll get each of my posts delivered directly to your email inbox as soon as they’re published, ready for whenever you get a moment. They’ll also be here on the website or in the app.
About Me
I’m Brad Kelley. I’m a 33 year old father of two. I’m not a parenting expert. I’m not a paediatrician. I’m not a child psychologist. I’m not a nutritionist, a sleep therapist, a health visitor, or a life coach.
I’m just some other dad.
Yep, just another parent stumbling their way through the magnificent chaos of raising children—just like you.
I don’t know about you, but there’s plenty of days where I find parenting really hard, as well as really awesome. We’re meant to say how we couldn’t imagine our lives without our kids. Whilst for the most part that’s true, it shouldn’t mean we have to keep it all to ourselves when we’re having bad days. But it can be hard opening up about this stuff. Often we put so much effort into parenting, we neglect our own need for sharing common experiences, and end up feeling isolated.
I want to change that. If you want to as well, then you’re in the right place.
