Our 69th Dad in the Limelight is Clay Nichols of Dad Labs. I want to thank Clay for being a part of this series. It has been great connected with him and now sharing him with all of you!
1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)
I’m Clay Nichols, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at DadLabs.com, a publishing and production company creating content about being a father. On the site you can find me hosting videos. Lots of videos (we have almost 600 in our catalog). I blog a bit, and manage our Twitter account (@dadlabs, @daddyclay). Over the years I’ve done lots of other writing as well — feature articles, co-author of two books, about a dozen or so plays.
2) Tell me about your family
I’ve been married to my wife Kim for 14 years, and we have three kids. My son Wilson is 12, my daughter Riley is 9 and my son Cooper is 6. We live in Austin, Texas on the campus of a boarding school — which is an unusual (and great) environment to raise kids. Family meals are central in our lives — my wife is an amazing cook and I chip in some grilling — but we’re a bit sports crazed at the moment. Team obligations are putting family traditions to the test. We spend summers on Cape Cod, and have a weakness for Disney parks.
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
We had a rocky entry into parenting — my oldest was a preemie, born at 32 weeks. My wife was debilitated by the emergency c-section and a bout of post partum depression brought on my the disappointing and stressful birth (we had planned on a natural childbirth with a midwife). I was pressed into service; overseeing medical treatment, feeding, offering “kangaroo care” to my tiny newborn son. My world completely shattered and reformed in the course of a fortnight.
By the time my son was released from the NICU, I emerged as a different guy. I knew that being a dad would be far more important to me than anything else.
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
Unfortunately, our society requires men to make sacrifices and challenge stereotypes in order to create deeply meaningful relationships with their children. Make them. Challenge them.
5) Seeing that you (or your position) are in the limelight, how have you come to balance parenthood and outside life? If you are currently not in the limelight per se, please still answer this in regards to how you balance parenthood and outside life.
Fortunately, my business is about being a dad, which is really good at keeping me honest in terms of my priorities. There is never a question around here if one of the dads needs to take off to care for a sick kid or attend a teacher conference (which happens pretty often). Travel is definitely a pain point for me and for our family. To grow the business, which is at least in part a benefit to our family, I need to attend conferences (where you meet really cool bloggers like Dad of Divas) or go to face-to-cafe meetings. But with all the games and with my wife’s work schedule (she has regular weekend dorm responsibilities), being out of town takes a toll. So we share in the office, rotate the traveling team, and try to avoid travel when possible.
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
That dads dislike and defy categorization. That they appreciate acknowledgment for the increased participation in the household, whether it be from partners, kids or brands. I think most dads feel the pinch of this new role — moms expect more, but the outside world isn’t relinquishing its demands on our time — and that we’re looking for ways to get some props and find some fellowship, support and information. Mostly I find that dads enjoy a good laugh and care a lot about their families.
What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
I don’t really trust any of my conclusions because my parenting is a work in progress. It does seem to me that my time invested when the kids were young (I was a SAHD for my oldest) has paid off in terms of my knowledge of the basic working s of their day-to-day lives and my relationship with them. So I would recommend that to other dads — invest as much raw time as you possibly can.
What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
Vacations come to mind — the Cape and Disney. I still think some of my best moments as a dad have come in the back yard with the sun going down, at the grill, good music on, glass of wine in hand. Those are some of the best times for me.
If you have any questions for Clay, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!
——————————————————————————————-
New to the Divadom?
Please Subscribe to my RSS Feed! Subscribe in a reader
Questions?Drop me a line at dadofdivas@gmail.com
Also, do you know a Dad in the Limelight? If so, please email me their contact information so that they too can be a part of this series!
