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.

For Startup Dad Merch: www.startupdadshop.com

Production support for Startup Dad is provided by Tommy Harron at http://www.armaziproductions.com/