Becoming a parent doesn’t come with a Learner Plate like when you start taking driving lessons.

We go to parentcraft sessions, buy the books, read the articles and watch the videos, but apart from learning how to put on a diaper or fit the baby seat in the back of your car, there are little practicable skills you can work on before actually holding your child for the first time.

Yes, you can practice with dolls like you did when you participated in that First Aid course, but you can’t really take it out for a test drive to check whether it will scream when you’re in the cue at the fast food outlet at mid-day.

Learner Dad is all about shared experiences.

Learner Dad is as clueless as many.

Learner Dad was also a reluctant Dad. not something many will hear being said out loud, but needs to also be said.

There is no ‘ideal’ audience, no defined description of a dad, learner or even learner dad. We would like to appeal to those willing to do something different every day to better themselves as a dad, individual, colleague, citizen, based on the learning experiences BEING a dad offers.

This site, this blog is all about becoming a dad. It’s purpose is one: sharing learned experiences through parenting. Some of these experiences will be great, joyous and successful, others will be not so fun and recounting parental misgivings and mistakes.

It is being written with the intent to extract the importance of what are called ‘engaged experiences’, and their relevance to developing a more conscientious paternal brain. This is based on research that is looking at creating causal relationships between how a new father engages with their child, and the development of specific traits, skills and competencies.

Learner Dad is being presented in blog format because we want it to remain informal. Learner Dad is, just as the writing on the box says, a dad learning to be a dad. There is no extensive years of research, apart from those referenced. Keeping this to a blog should also encourage other Learner Dad’s to drop their thoughts about their engaged experiences, and what they learnt from them.

None of the content is to be considered as ‘reference’ for actions to be taken by others. Trying what is shared is the sole responsibility of the reader and should never replace, speaking to the professionals first.

Learner Dad takes no responsibility from failed attempts at putting into practice some of the shared experiences, these are the sole responsibility of the readers.

Being a learning process, Learner Dad as a site and content will evolve with the contributions shared. This means it is not a static space, so expect new things from time to time.

That said, let’s get right into it.