First Time Dads

Is your child turning into a dictator? Are you struggling to cope with your little one's bad behaviour without losing your marbles?
Join the club.
Steve and Rich are joined by the Government's former child behaviour czar Charlie Taylor - author of Divas and Dictators: The Secrets To Having A Much Better Behaved Child - to figure out the best way of handling a naughty or angry kid… and discover what makes children behave poorly in the first place. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Journalist and father of two Stu Heritage joins Rich and Steve to discuss the age old question: are we all destined to turn into our dads? And does that mean we will end up raising our children in the same way they raised us?
The guys chat about how the very concept of being a father has changed for this current generation of dads, while realising the key lessons they learned from their own fathers. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Have you ever given your kid a hit of Calpol to help them settle down? If you're like the vast majority of parents in Britain, the chances are you have a bottle of baby paracetamol in the bathroom cabinet which has come in very handy on a few rough nights.
On one of those rough nights with a sick baby, you might also have found yourself wondering if your little one could be allergic to cow's milk.
In this podcast, Dr Chris van Tulleken - whose new show The Doctor Who Gave Up Drugs in on BBC1 on Wednesday night - joins Steve and Rich to explain exactly how and why we a) are often dangerously casual about the use of baby paracetamol and b) often leap to the conclusion our children are allergic to milk - when there is no evidence that is the case.
The reasons Dr Chris have discovered are more than a little sinister… For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Anna Williamson - TV presenter, radio host, podcast star and best-selling author - joins Rich and Steve to discuss the anxiety that comes with being a parent.
Anna has suffered with anxiety for many years, but as she tells the guys, becoming pregnant and then having her baby took it to a new level. The conversation quickly turns to what causes the often crippling anxiety that comes with not only being a new mum… but a new dad too. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Muslins. Reflux. Nipple shields. Isofix.
There are plenty of words, phrases and objects which are a key part of every first time dad's life - despite the fact that they had no idea what most of them even were before they became a parent.
Rich and Steve take a look at some of the ones that still don't quite make sense to them now... For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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The broadcaster and model joins Rich and Steve to discuss everything she has learned from being the mother of two boys.
The guys talk about the challenge of getting nutrition and vitamins into your kids, Mel's experiences of bringing up an autistic child and what Mel believes makes a good father.
It turns out dads really, REALLY need to get off the phone - and buy a diary. That will make sense once you've listened… For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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One of the First Time Dads is now a Second Time Dad!


Steve is currently getting used to life with two kids, after his daughter Iris was born. In this special episode, Steve speaks to Rich from the (relative) sanctuary of his house, one week into paternity leave.


The guys discuss how the birth of baby no2 is both very similar and very different to the first one, and chat about the many different challenges - and delights - of being a dad of two. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Rich and Steve take a trip to the House of Commons, to meet Jo Swinson - the politician who brought shared parental leave to Britain in 2015.
Now Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats, Jo's role in the Conservative/Lib Dem coalition government meant she was the driving force behind the introduction of the policy.

So, three years on, what exactly ARE the benefits of shared parental leave to fathers (and mothers)? Why haven't more men taken up the opportunity? And is the idea of a genuinely shared parental burden realistic? For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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With Steve little more than a week away from the due date for his second child, this episode sees our co-host become a special guest - as Rich grills his co-presenter on how he feels about the imminent arrival of his daughter. 
Turns out it's difficult to know exactly how to feel when you're about to be thrown back into the madness of newborn babies. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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Award-winning children's author and illustrator Rob Biddulph joins Steve and Rich to explain what he has learned about talking to kids through his books. 
The guys also discuss what makes a great kids' book, the joy of reading to your child… and the very strong feelings Bono from U2 has on this subject. For information regarding your data privacy, visit acast.com/privacy

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