On the occasion of Father's day, which is just around the corner, we are making these days the Special Bloggers Dad, with interviews with some of the best-known parents in the network, who usually tell us about their lives in their respective blogs since they are parents.
Today we have Juan Manuel Palacios, who from Peru writes the blog Dad in action where, among many other topics, he tells us about his beautiful girl of almost 18 months whom they affectionately call "Bubu". She keeps Dad active and surprised whenever he can, giving him the energy he needs daily to complete the day very well.
Juan Manuel has been a Systems Engineer for many years and now he is also a part-time teacher. He likes music, reading books, going to the movies and collecting toys. Let's meet him a little more in the interview below.
What led you to start the blog?
Dad in Action was born shortly after my daughter arrived in this world and it was not on my own initiative, it was because a friend of mine, who also has her blog, told me about the idea of creating one where she would tell my experiences as a dad. He told me that he liked how he wrote, especially since my texts sounded as if he were telling them in person, he told me that it might be interesting to write about the things he did with the bubu, especially because here in Peru there are very few male bloggers that talk about paternity issues, if we reach six it is enough. I already had some previous experience writing at that time, I manage another blog that is more focused on my personal life but for obvious reasons I now give much more importance to the one I have with my daughter and the truth is that I love it, the power Telling my experiences as simple as they are, sharing them and writing about them, is really great, every week that begins I am already thinking about what to tell and my worst enemy is time.
What has the blog contributed to you?
A lot of things, first of all is having learned from so many things about what it means to be a father, has allowed me to increase my vocabulary of new terms, terms that are heard every so often as "attachment" and "colecho", to know about brands and products that I had never heard of before, or maybe yes but never paid attention to them. On the other hand I could say that it is to be able to share my experiences and that these can help other parents who are in the learning stage, as I was a little over a year ago, it is clear that my idea is not to imitate what that I have already done to get to the point where I am currently, but at least serve as a guide, support and maybe answer any questions you may have, contribute a grain of sand and know that in some way I have helped is priceless.
What do you like to do with your daughter?
There are so many things that I love to do with her ... But what I like to do the most is to have her in her arms, loaded and fill her with kisses. The other thing that fascinates me is to bathe her, obviously I don't do it alone, my wife helps me a lot so as not to fall in the shower during the bathing process. After that come the games and as she loves music sometimes we dance like crazy, and if you can and time allows us to take her for a ride in the car or walking, going outside is what she likes best and we try to take her to a nice place where she can walk and play with Other children.
How do you reconcile work and family life?
That is a complicated issue., we as a couple made a very important and quite radical decision in July of last year, we decided that it was best that Mary, my wife, stay at home taking care of the baby and the truth is that we think it has been one of the best decisions that we have made, give someone else the responsibility to take care of your daughter while we both work or have to take her to a nursery type like that did not convince us, so she left her job in return Of being with the baby. For my part I had to make a great sacrifice, by the time we decided that she would stay at home I only had a job that allowed us to cover enough of the important economic needs of the family but I had to get another additional income, for That reason now I have two jobs and much less hours available to be with the family, I know it is difficult but I have the support of my wife and that helps me a lot. I also know that I am missing out on several of the achievements that my daughter is following but I don't have much left to choose from. The family squeezes me on the weekends, we do everything we can with the little free time we have left but we make the most of it and get the juice. In the week I always try to get home early and go for a walk even if it is to go around the block, call at least once or twice a day to see how everything is going, at least that's what we are at.
How do you think parenting has changed 30 years ago compared to that of parents now?
It has changed a lot, before the parents took care of the work and the mothers of the children, I remember very much that my dad was almost never at home, always working or traveling and the truth is that I do not remember having an image of him doing something with me, like For example, taking me to the park to play, however the maternal image is well marked, with my mother we went from one place to another. Today our participation has increased exponentially. Now mom and dad know the things a baby needs. Today our participation has increased exponentially, now both parents could be working, there are even cases where it is the father who stays at home and the mother who is in the office. Now we both as parents know about all the things a baby needs, I'm prepared to change diapers, I know how to make milk, and I'm not so lost anymore when I have to go buy medicine for when my daughter is sick. For example, I talk a lot with the pediatrician, I stop him filling him with questions until he is tired, before the parents were not so involved in what the children were doing or in how we felt, now we are very aware of everything that happens around our Little ones, that's the big change, it's quite real and very tangible, it looks everywhere and it's really amazing, for example going to the supermarket and seeing other parents, and I mean both parents, just as involved as I do Feel great, I don't look so much like a weirdo anymore, I imagine you know what I mean, right?
We thank Juan Manuel, from the Dad in Action blog that has participated so kindly in our Special Papas Bloggers with whom we are knowing a little better, facing Father's Day, the men behind each blog dedicated to parenthood.
