The following scenarios are taken from real life experiences, they provide a template for trying to better deal with each challenge in a calm and loving way:

1. Blistergate ( shoes too small )

2. The nursery trampoline v the home trampoline

3. Bedtime ‘food’..you have asked them whether they want a snack before they go to bed but they say no, you clean their teeth etc and then as you are heading up to bed they say they’re hungry

4. Continuous sibling teasing 

5. Keeping your child awake in the car on the way home from nursery/school.

6. Dad’s parkinsons

7. The confiscation cycle. Buy toys, used to drench bathroom, confiscate, return, drench bathroom, confiscate, repeat..

8. Good cop, bad cop

9. The ‘Pied Piper’. Kids follow you round the house

10. Too many cooks

11. Sleep deprivation

12. ‘Help to Hinder’ – your kids think they are old enough to used sharp knives, scissors, wash up ( so now there’s water all over the floor), break eggs into the bowl ( we have gone through half a dozen  and we only needed 1 )

12. Serious case of ‘Help to Hinder’ with my 2 children today. Both my kids think they are old enough to used sharp knives, scissors, wash up ( so now there’s water all over the floor), break eggs into the bowl ( we have gone through half a dozen  and we only needed 1 ). Need beer

13. The Law of Diminishing Returns…there’s comes a point as a dad where you are not appreciated any more for doing more..I think a good conversation starter is ‘where is the line for different dads’?

14. Smirky child

15. Blistergate

16. Carry the birthday present

17. Don’t eat that its for the kids

18. Wired child

19. Calm dad calm kids