Declan Quinlan installs floors and lives in Chilliwack, B.C, Canada where he is raising his daughter and is expecting his second daughter! Every Dad of the Week answers the following questions, read on to learn more about Declan and his family!
- What was your first reaction when you found out that you were going to be a father?
- My girlfriend woke me up at 6am to tell me. Not knowing what to do, I went back to sleep. When I woke up, I was very excited.
- When you knew you were going to be a father of a daughter, who or where did you turn to for advice?
- I didn’t specifically reach out to anyone because of the gender. I do listen closely and carefully to the advice on parenting that I receive from parents of kids that I’ve seen grown to be good stand up people.
- How would your kids describe you as a dad?
- If my baby girl could talk, I think she would describe dad as playful and patient.
- What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
- Providing financially. Pivoting as who I was as a person starting from the day I found out we were pregnant. I came from a home that I would describe as hostile, frightening, angry, and sometimes dangerous. Unfortunately being the oldest, I took the brunt of a lot of the harsh things that went on. This led to me developing a lot of insecurities, anger issues, and bad habits on how to be a good spouse. I don’t like to speak highly of myself, but I am proud to say I’ve got a hold of all my issues and although I’m still working on myself as we all should, I don’t have to worry about any of these problems coming up in my family’s life.
- Looking back on your life as a father, what would you change if you could?
- Worry less about money and time spent at work so I could have witnessed more as she’s developed.
- What do you do for fun with your daughter(s)?
- We go for walks, dad lets her play with his hats, we play with her toys, mini hockey.
- What advice would you give to other dads with daughters?
- Time is irreplaceable. Money is an object, it’s meaningless. If you have the choice to make an extra 100$ or spend an hour playing with your daughter. Choose that hour every time. Your kids will forever remember you not being there. Your job will forget you ever worked there in only a few weeks.
- How have you come to balance fatherhood and outside life?
- I’m early in the process of fatherhood. My daughter is only a year old, and my wife is 8.5 months pregnant. So for us, there hasn’t been much balance yet. It’s something we still need to get a grasp of.
- What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a father?
- My wife had an emergency c-section. Because of this, I ended up in a room alone with my baby for 45 mins with no help and no guidance. It was my first time holding a baby, I had no idea what I was doing. She was beautiful and it truly was one of the best moments of my life, even though it was trial by fire. Another one was when I realized she was getting the concept of copying what I do. I taught her to stick handle, say dada, use a spoon. My favourite memory was probably today though (April 10th, 2021) her first birthday. Her party was great and we got to have a lot of play time with all her new toys. Because of covid a lot of my family hadn’t met her yet, but today I got to show her off and that was really special for me. I love my extended family a lot, so it really hit home to see everyone love her so much, and to see how happy Rylee was with all of them even though she is usually shy meeting someone for the first time. I’ll never forget today.
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