Alex Lloyd Hunter is co-founder of The Dad Shift—a group of men, dads and co-parents campaigning for better paternity leave in the UK. He has been a founder, a non-profit leader, and an organizer for the Labour Party. In addition to being an advocate for better paternity leave policies he’s also a husband and the father of a young son. We discussed:
* Just how bad paternity leave is in the UK
* What The Dad Shift is trying to achieve
* The biggest obstacles to better paternity leave policies
* How we can define men less by their professional lives and more by their participation at home
* How Alex’s views on fatherhood and parenting were shaped by his own father and the birth of his son
* How he proactively adjusted his career to better prepare for his son’s arrival
Where to find Alex Lloyd Hunter
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexlloydhunter/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dadshiftuk
* The Dad Shift: https://dadshift.org.uk/
Where to find Adam Fishman
* FishmanAF Newsletter: www.FishmanAFNewsletter.com
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamjfishman/
* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/startupdadpod/
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In this episode, we cover:
[1:56] Welcome
[2:09] The Dad Shift
[3:43] Redefining what it means to be a man and a dad
[7:10] The guerilla marketing Dad Shift launch
[9:39] How his son shaped his views on fatherhood
[12:05] Career arc/changes before fatherhood
[13:45] Conversations with wife to establish a shared view
[16:11] Paternity leave in the UK
[19:04] Goals of The Dad Shift
[20:52] Obstacles to paternity leave improvements
[24:25] New generation regressing
[26:56] Role of fathers
[29:01] Response to The Dad Shift
[32:09] Surprising parts of being a dad
[34:00] Advice for younger Alex
[35:38] Advice to ignore
[37:06] Favorite book to read to his son
[38:03] Mistakes as a dad
[39:44] How to support The Dad Shift
[41:12] Lightning round
[49:17] Thank you
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Show references:
Brene Brown:https://brenebrown.com/
Laurence Olivier: https://www.biography.com/actors/laurence-olivier
Andrew Tate: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-64125045
Maisy books: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/MSY/maisy/
Sleepyhead: https://mysleepyhead.com/mattresses
Clip bag: https://www.amazon.com/Skip-Hop-Universal-Stroller-Organizer/dp/B0CR3BY2D2
BBC Alpha Blocks, Number Blocks, Colour Blocks & Wonder Blocks: https://www.learningblocks.tv/
The Snowman: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084701/
Aled Jones “Walking In The Air”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=engSQve1CKU
Peppa Pig: https://www.peppapig.com/en-us/
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For sponsorship inquiries email: podcast@fishmana.com.
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Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at http://www.armaziproductions.com/
This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit
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