Laurie Steed shares his fathering goal of being emotionally present for his sons

Fathering First Podcast – Laurie Steed

After experiencing family break-up at the age of nine, Laurie spent most of his adolescence and young adulthood believing he wouldn’t become a ‘family man’.

An avid traveler, he eventually came to realise this aversion to the family experience was a hangover from his childhood experiences – and began to open his mind to taking on the ‘new’.

Laurie met the woman who would become his wife at a party, and years down the track Oscar and Jake came into the world to complete the Steed Family.

This podcast was recorded on Friday 3 July 2020.

This podcast episode explores Laurie transition to fatherhood, from emergency C-section to accident prone kids, there’s a lot to relate to in Laurie’s story.

“It’s really an interesting thing, because I had been so adamant that I wasn’t going to be this father-figure for people, I just didn’t think I had within my capabilities,” Laurie shares.

“It was almost the moment that Oscar showed up that something really profoundly clicked. I can recall hearing his cry in the room the first time and thinking ‘I’ve never heard that noise before, what’s that!?’.

“From there, I’m certainly laughing a lot more, and having a few more anxious moments too.

“My volume has gone up from a 2 to about a 10, in terms of what my life looks like.

“That willingness to emotionally be present for someone, is the most important and the hardest thing as a parent.

“When they need you, they need you – and they need you’ve ever been needed before,” says Laurie.