The Dad Cave

Guest Gerrit Bantjes joins Stephen and Mark in the Dad Cave to share his experience of being a stepdad.

Mark Madavan visits The Dad Cave this month to talk to Stephen and Mark about losing his sight and overcoming the pressure to always be a ‘Super Dad’.

Author Phil Knox returns to The Dad Cave to share with Mark and Stephen how his dad dying unexpectedly 20 years ago has shaped his adult life and impacted his own experiences of becoming a father.

Mark and Stephen are joined by financial expert Simon Martin to discuss living costs, financial pressure and budgeting tips for dads.

Mark and Stephen discuss Christmas pressures, the festive role of dads and cracker jokes in this Dad Cave Christmas special.

Mark and Stephen discuss fatherhood and male friendships as they catch up with author Phil Knox whose recent book “The Best of Friends” looks at that all-important topic.

Divorce and estrangement are on the rise in today’s society; Christian Sana discusses a childhood with an absent father and how he made the decision to reach out and offer forgiveness.

Dave Gordon is the father of two rising stars in two very different sports; water polo and football! He shares with us what it’s like to encourage his sons in their individual passions, and how he sees his role as their dad in nurturing their character as well as their talents.

In this episode of The Dad Cave, Tim Madeley shares his own mental health challenges following the difficult birth of his daughter, Hannah.

Robin Vincent, Chief Executive of Care for the Family, joins Mark and Stephen to talk about his children leaving home and how to let go of our children as they grow into adults.

Rich Muller opens up about how life changed when he became a single dad and talks about the struggles and loneliness of parenting alone.

Only a few months into fatherhood, Dan Ridgeon joins Stephen and Mark as they chat about the overwhelming experience of becoming a dad.

Talking to a world record holder about dads, father figures, and swimming the English Channel Tom Gregory, the youngest person to ever swim the English Channel is in The Dad Cave. Tom is also the author of A Boy in the Water, winner of the William Hill Sports Book of the Year 2018.

In this episode, Mark and Stephen are joined by Adam Hewlett as they talk about what it’s like to be a dad when you struggle with mental health and how our wellbeing affects us in the way we parent our children.

Dad of two, Oli Proctor, joins Mark and Stephen as they look at what it’s like to be a dad raising adoptive children, the ups and downs of the journey and finding ways to share the adoption story as a family.

Mark and Stephen are joined by Ugo Eboh as they discuss what it’s like to be a dad raising kids in a mixed-race family, the importance of talking to our children about race, and celebrating different cultural identities.

Mark and Stephen are joined by Founder and Chairman of Care for the Family, Rob Parsons. They discuss the busyness of life and whether it’s ever possible to get a balance between all those things we have to juggle in life. Rob shares lessons he learnt when his children were small and when he had a demanding job as a lawyer, as well as wisdom gathered from over thirty years of working alongside families.

Dad of four boys, Andy Packett, is our guest for this episode of The Dad Cave. He joins Mark and Stephen as they look at dads and hobbies, and why cultivating common interests with your children can be a great benefit to family life.

Only a few months into fatherhood, Dan Ridgeon joins Stephen and Mark as they chat about the overwhelming experience of becoming a dad.

Mark and Stephen are joined by guest Claire Burton, from the Kitchen Table Project, to discuss a dad’s role in the family. They consider whether dads are a ‘support act’ or ‘equal billing’ when it comes to family life.

In this episode, Mark and Stephen take a look at what it means to be a father in this day and age and discuss the question, ‘Is this a golden age for dads or is this a time of crisis?’