Stay-at-home dad and award-winning parenting blogger defies the stereotype to spend time with his daughter
Daddy-Daughter-duo deny the daily grind.
“Splashing around in the pool with my little girl on a Thursday morning feels like a million miles away from my life. But we weren’t on holiday, enjoying the odd week of daddy-daughter time on our summer holidays - I’m a dad who gets to spend every day of the year with my child! I’d take a Water Babies lesson in Hemel Hempstead over a week abroad any day, if it means I get to spend all the time in the world with my little one.”
32 year old Dave Hornby loves his job – now, how many of us can say that? He is part of the growing population of work-from-home fathers, currently juggling two full time jobs to help provide for his family of three (four, if you include Dax the sausage dog.) Surprisingly, Dave doesn’t have a daily commute to deal with, nor does he spend hours dealing with office politics – he is both a stay-at-home dad to his spirited (and swimming obsessed!) two year old daughter and a full-time blogger.
Dave’s blog, thedadventurer.com, centres around his life as a stay-at-home-dad, and the things he gets up to with his little girl and wife of 5 years, Hayley, who works full-time. Their non-traditional family set-up has been a consistent way of life for the Hornby family – and Dave wouldn’t have it any other way!
“When I left university, I went straight into a graduate Management Consultancy job. I stayed there for five years, but I got a bit bored and wanted to do something I was passionate about. As a big sports fan, I managed to get a job at a football stats company, analysing data to produce editorial. Unfortunately, they went into liquidation, so I began working from home as a freelance writer, producing football and betting content for different websites. When we found out Hayley was expecting, I started my blog to document my journey through pregnancy and into fatherhood.”
Dave’s amusing and witty anecdotes around becoming a dad for this first time meant others in similar circumstances – both mums and dads - were regularly flocking to his site, and before long, Dave dropped the freelance football content, in favour of focusing solely on his blog.
“After our daughter was born, Hayley went back to work after ten months and I stayed at home. This was primarily to look after our daughter, but the blog gave me a creative outlet and the opportunity to turn it into a business by working with brands. The best thing about being a stay-at-home Dad is that I get the chance to be with my daughter and nurture her development – we play at home, we go to the park and we attend weekly toddler groups and classes. She’s a really active kid, so it’s great to be involved in activities like this – it’s something I couldn’t do if I had a traditional job. I feel lucky that I can take my little one swimming on a weekday – how many dads can say that?”
His daughter’s happiness is of the utmost importance to Dave, and the trials and tribulations of raising a toddler never fails to provide engaging content. Parents regularly turn to Dave’s award-nominated site for recommendations on engaging things to do with little ones, and a few funny narratives are thrown in along the way. Water Babies, the Beds and Bucks based swimming school, have become a regular feature on Dave’s blog – mainly because his daughter loves her classes! Dave feels it important to share the message of how much swimming has improved her development.
“When we’re in the pool, she truly engages with me and the teacher, and I really relish in watching her thrive. She was a baby when we started, and at nearly three years old, she is such a confident little swimmer. I take a lot of pride in seeing her flourish in the water and it’s great we’ve had this time to bond. We’ve been going to Water Babies lessons for over two years now, and I can really use the classes as a benchmark for how much she’s improved, both in and out of the water.”
So, what does the future hold for this daddy-and-daughter duo?
“After working for myself for three years, I just can’t see myself going back to a ‘normal’ job. As long as our setup works for us as a family, my blog continues to bring in an income and I’m not cramping my daughter’s style, I’ll be a stay-at-home dad. Although it can be difficult at times, it’s one of the best decisions I’ve made and I can’t recommend it enough. All I want to do is help raise my daughter as best as we can and give her the confidence, skills and ability to become whatever she wants – isn’t that what parenting is all about?”
Interested in how you and your little one can get involved in a Water Babies Beds and Bucks class? Visit: https://www.waterbabies.co.uk/contact/bucks-and-beds
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Editors notes:
If you’d like to speak to Dave at thedadventurer.com or the team at Water Babies Beds and Bucks, please contact kelly@revpr.co.uk 07895 876745
Image attached – Dave with his daughter at their weekly Water Babies lesson. More images available on request.