My daughter just recently had her first birthday and its amazing to reflect over the past year and all that has occurred. She’s grown so much and is really such a joy to be around.

Its been a significant challenge to be there for her through the past six months though. It had felt like an uphill battle to be able to spend time with her, but finally it was agreed that I would be able to care for her four hours a day, five days a week. Many people have told me that this is more time than most fathers spend with their children, but that doesn’t mean that much to me, because if she weren’t with me, she would be in daycare of some sorts.

I don’t think that there is anything wrong with daycare, but as I already mentioned, my daughter is only one year old. I might be over protective, but I want my daughter to grow up knowing that she is loved. My way of showing her this is to be with her and take care of her personally.

What do we do during our time together? I feed her, change her diapers, take her on walks, and we just started the Music Together program which is a lot of fun for us both.

If you are a dad having a tough time getting to see your child or children - keep trying, its well worth it!