I'm a father of four, my eldest child is now 22. It feels like just the other day my daughter was born!!! October 8th, 1999, at 19 years old I became a dad!!! There isn't a manual in being a parent and even if there was one, there is no one size fits all guide to being a parent. I realised this as my other three children came into the world in 2006, 2008 & 2013, respectively. Here I am father to 3 beautiful daughters and a son, with my boy being the third born child. Each of them has different characteristics and although I love them all the same, I treat them as individuals, and our relationships differ.
As a father, I play to my strengths in regard to raising them, which is to talk to them about life. As soon as I realise, they are old enough to understand. I encourage them to face their fears and have a positive approach towards their weaknesses. I talk about my failures, let them know where I went wrong and how best to avoid making the same mistakes. They listen intently but only time will tell if they have taken it on board.
My children mean the world to me, I cannot imagine life without them. I don't claim to be the best dad in the world and I'm far from perfect, but I try my best, it's difficult to comprehend the mindset of dad's who don't, as children are the greatest blessing of all!!!!