Take us through your morning routine.
Is there such a thing as a routine when there is a toddler in the house?
I then try and squeeze in a cold cup of tea before attempting to leave the house.
How do you divide household/childcare responsibilities with your partner?
We decided quite early that Lyns would be the one to go back to work full time.
As a writer, I can work flexibly and at night.
Its not the fifties.
How much outside help do you get as a parent?
We get a lot of help from grandparents and from my sister.
Everyone else is dead to you.
What are the gadgets, apps, charts or tools you rely on?
I use an iPad Pro for writing.
I prefer it to a laptop because theres no boot up time and I can write anywhere with it.
I use my iPhone to take billions of photos of Charlie.
I also rely on things like the YouTube app.
As a last resort in restaurants,Paw Patrolon YouTube is a savior.
(I know … Im a lousy parent).
This American Life is everything.
How do you decompress?
I like being around people and I find them a really good night out and a lot of fun.
So, weirdly, they are quite a good way to decompress.
But, in general, I decompress the same way all British people doI go to the pub.
Whats been your proudest moment as a parent?
But he said daddy before he said the word mummy, which was a big deal in our house.
Me and Lyns had been fighting for weeks to brainwash him into saying mummy or daddy first.
Not only that, but I managed to convince him to call his mum Bob for months.
What moment are you least proud of?
When Charlie was about four months old, I remember one night trying to dress him for bed.
After ten minutes of struggling I shouted to Lyns for help.
Youre a moron was her considered opinion.
Charlie raised one eyebrow in agreement.
What do you want your kids to learn from your example?
I post sometimes about issues like sexism and homophobia, that sort of thing.
I also hope he learns from me to not take life too seriously.
Life throws enough crap your way not to stop as often as possible to laugh until you cant breathe.
I wish someone had told me about envelope neck.
Do you have any funny/weird/special family rituals?
We have a monster who lives under our sofa that we leave offerings to.
Whats your best parenting hack?
I wish someone had told me about envelope neck.
Has anyone ever given you a piece of parenting advice that has really stuck with you?
A friend of ours sent us a note when Charlie was born.
It said that our lives were about to change forever and to prepare for a gear change.
And becoming a parent for the first timeisa gear changea seriously grinding, metal-on-metal, shrieking gear change.
But my friend went on to say that we shouldnt worry about feeling out of our depth.
He said it would be the greatest thing we will ever doand he was right.
Whats the hardest part about being a parent?
Im fundamentally quite a lazy person and thats not allowed when youre a parent.
So Id say the hardest thing is not being able to just do nothing.
Doing nothing is the most underrated pastime ever.
I miss that so much.
Whats your favorite part of the day?
Opening a beer or a glass of wine at the end of the day.
And its not because were all drunks, its because that drink is a trophy.
Its a reward you made it through another day from 7 til 7 and nobody got hurt or died.
