‘Dadmin’ is a tongue-in-cheek word that father-of-two Simon Boi affectionately uses to describe ‘those jobs’ that dads find themselves doing. The idea became a successful brand in October last year championed by like-minded dads and grandads along the way. S4K catches up with the man who gives a unique and fun spin on life as a dad…
Dadmin is a word I started using a few years ago after we had our daughter. It was a quirky way of saying I was doing some home / family based tasks. Usually it involved things like painting, furniture assembly, putting stuff in the loft, getting it out again and endless trips to the recycling centre. But Dadmin could also be… tying my daughter’s ponytails, cooking lunches, doing the nursery runs and much more. They are obviously not tasks that just dads (or mums) do, but if I’m a dad and I’m doing them then they can certainly be called Dadmin. Truthfully, when it comes to classic Dadmin tasks, I’m actually pretty terrible at putting up shelves and using power tools. I’m much happier cooking up a storm in the kitchen.
Q) Do you think dads get a bit of a raw deal sometimes in that everyone always thinks only women are juggling a career with parenting?
I’m not sure it’s a raw deal but maybe it’s highlighted more. This probably won’t be the case in a few years time as roles are becoming much more evenly spread and there are plenty of parents, or carers, who share work and parenting. It’s just a case of working out your own balance. This may be driven by who earns more or just what works best in a practical sense. I think it is definitely a work in progress for most employers to offer parents the flexible working options they really need to fully share the load. Speaking personally there is a lot of juggling but I try as much as possible to get home for dinner, bath and bedtime stories. Sometimes this sacrifices my downtime later if I need to do more work but I’d rather this than miss out on the important moments. I work hard but I count myself lucky and I love what I do thankfully!
Q) What do you love about being a dad – and what was the biggest surprise to you when you became a father?
The thing I love is the love. We’ve got two munchkins now and unquestionably my favourite part of the day is when I walk through the door every evening to the excitement and cuddles that I get when I’m welcomed home. Watching my kids grow and seeing the different sides of their little personalities develop astounds me all the time. The biggest surprise was probably how quickly things change from day to day and week to week. You always have to expect the unexpected.
Q) What are your favourite Dadmin products from the range?
The ‘So much Dadmin’ hoodie was one of the first items I created and we sold around 1600 of them in the first seven weeks which was amazing. It was the initial idea and completely tongue-in- cheek. I also like the ‘Baby Dadmin’ T-shirts which have been very popular. There’s something really heartwarming about creating products that you know are going to be given as gifts to people at very special times of their lives. We also created a simple ‘Outnumbered’ design which has been very popular. I really love the idea of creating products which fit in with a moment, a day or a part of someone’s life.
Q) And plans for future?
We will continue to grow the brand and expand the product range. I’m currently designing a full range of greetings cards and a Dadmin book is being written in time for Father’s Day. We also have a charity T-Shirt project underway and are partnering with a high-end pushchair company. Longer term I’d love to see Dadmin on the high street. You never know, it could happen!
Find the entire product range at dadminstore.com