This week’s Dad Life episode is born straight out of Nick’s infamous washing machine story from our Every Day Life episode — and from there it spirals beautifully into a full-on therapy session for dads everywhere. We dig into parenting misfortunes: those moments where your heart’s in the right place, your brain clocks off, and chaos clocks in.
We share our own battle scars and cover the classic traps every dad will recognise:
The “They’re Old Enough” Trap You’re convinced they can carry a mug of tea, use scissors, pour cereal or make toast. Reality delivers tea on the laptop, a missing fringe, an entire box of cereal in one bowl, and a smoke alarm giving a West End–level performance.
The “I’ll Just Nip Out for 30 Seconds” Lie You step away to the toilet, take a call, or put the washing on… and return to permanent marker murals, Sudocrem in the sofa, and a child wearing every item of clothing you own. Time bends when kids are unsupervised — Einstein would’ve had notes.
The “Let Them Learn Independence” Moment You say, “Work it out yourself” or “You’ve got this,” and they hear permission to climb furniture, use tools, or enter machines not designed for humans. Nick’s washer incident sits proudly here — growth mindset, structural damage.
The “That’s Probably Fine” Safety Call It looks controlled. They’ve done it before. You’re tired. Suddenly the coffee table is a launch ramp, the dog is involved, and A&E becomes part of your evening. Bonus points if you said “be careful” instead of actually stopping them.
The “They Definitely Understand What I Mean” Assumption You say “don’t make a mess,” “be gentle,” or “just have a quick look.” They hear “experiment,” “push the limits of physics,” and “touch everything with both hands.” Kids are very literal… selectively.
The “It’ll Be a Funny Story One Day” Rationalisation In the moment it’s panic, anger, and questioning every life choice you’ve ever made. Later? Podcast gold. Group chat legend. “Remember when you destroyed the washing machine?” This is literally how Dad Crossing episodes are born.
The Comparison Trap You’ve seen other kids making snacks, doing chores, and being suspiciously capable on Instagram. What you don’t see are the repairs, the tears, and the insurance excess. Your kid is not their kid — and their highlight reel is a lie.
We wrap it all up with The Universal Dad Rule: If a task requires strength, balance, tools, or entering an appliance… it probably needs supervision — or at least a chair and emotional preparedness.
These misjudgements don’t make you a bad parent. They mean you trusted your kid, you tried to teach independence, and you underestimated chaos — which is basically the modern dad job description.
Grab a brew, laugh along, and feel very seen in Dad Life Episode 55-2.
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