Parental leave shared – a look back on my time off

It’s now around seven weeks since I donned my suit for the first time in 13 weeks and hopped on a train to Manchester to return to work after my shared parental leave. After a little round of applause as I walked back into the office (nice touch!), it didn’t take me long to get …

Men at work and Dads at play (group!)

Playgroups … an enigma to all non-parents and also to many Dads who haven't had the opportunity to attend them. When asking such people about playgroups you might be met with such stereotypical responses such as: 'just a mothers' meeting and chance for a cup of tea and a natter''people charging over the odds to …

Parental well-being – battling the mental and physical devils on your shoulder…

Taking shared parental leave has allowed me to experience first hand what is entailed with being the primary carer for a child. In my case, it's three children - Tessa, who is at school, Tilly who goes to nursery a couple of days a week and has time with both Grandmas too, and Toby, our …

Why Shared Parental Leave? Being Better …

When I've mentioned to people I'm taking shared parental leave I've been met with mixed reactions. I expect these sorts of reactions are fairly commonplace for anyone thinking about, or taking shared parental leave. Here's a few of the more common examples: "Oooof, you'll be desperate to get back to work after a few days""That's …