Happy Father’s Day! Below are the last of our Hip Dad profiles from our competition. We hope all the Dad’s out there find the time to enjoy the company of your family, the time to do something that you like to do best and most importantly the time to reflect on just what a special and important role you hold with the title of ‘father’! Happy Father’s Day from all of us at The Hip Infant.

Name: Ben Kanizay

Lives: Lyndhurst VIC

Lives With: Jo (wife), Toby (son) and Liberty (daughter)

Tell us a bit about you and your family?

I’m 32 years old. I’m the senior interactive developer at McCann Erickson Melbourne, building websites, games, animations and other fun web stuff. My wife is super mum and stays at home with our two bundles of joy. Toby is 2 and Liberty is 8 weeks old.

What makes you a ‘hip’ dad? I’d like to think that I still dress and look pretty hip and I find it hard to resist buying something hip for one or both of the kids whenever we go shopping, usually clothing. Also I love spending time with my kids and don’t shy away from all the parenting duties – that’s hip in my book.

How will you be spending fathers day? At home with my special trio. Hopefully some brekkie in bed!

Best piece of fatherly advice that you will offer your child one day? “I told you so” (lol). Seriously though, to never give up on their dreamsno matter what, coz they can achieve whatever’s in their heart to do.

Best parenting tip/piece of advice?

Never put your kids down, either directly to them or to others (in front of them or not). Love them to bits and encourage them no end. Oh, and tell them you love them – often!

What’s you’re favourite THI product?

So hard to pick one. I like a lot of the Ouch stuff. Right now, I’d probably say the Ouch Newborn Floral Tunic Top (for Liberty) or the Ouch ‘Boom’ tee (for Toby)

And we can’t forget all the Dad’s-To-Be today who are celebrating their first of many Father’s Days! 

Name: Hamish Anderson

Lives: Neutral Bay – NSW

Lives With:     My gorgeous wife Amanda who is 4 months pregnant!

Tell us a bit about you and your ‘soon to be’ family? My wife always tells me I’m a little bit nuts and I hope to pass that on to my child, because I want a family that laughs and plays and enjoys being together.

What makes you a ‘hip’ dad? I do not know if I am necessarily a hip Dad yet, but I plan to be. I want to take a very level approach to fatherhood and be very approachable to my kids. I think communication is key, and as such I am already taking steps to try and make sure that I am communicating with my wife and our little baby-to-be. I try to chat to them both (though this may make me seem nuts) and am also learning Makaton (baby sign language).

I am also tweeting about the day-to-day stuff regarding my perspective on the pregnancy and impending dad-hood, so that other dads have a reference (I’m trying to keep it light) should they want one, and so we, as a family will have something to look back on one day.

How will you be spending father’s day? We will be seeing my father in-law in the middle of the day and catching up with my wife’s family. We don’t see them that often so it will be good. It also means we get to see our niece and nephew. That evening we will be going to my parents for dinner which I believe I am cooking (my brother beat me at “rock/paper/scissors”)

What Hamish doesn’t realise is that his lovely wife also has aFather’s Day of his own planned! Complete with a card from baby-to-be and some socks… the true ‘dads’ present! We only hope she’s given them to Hamish before he checks out the blog!

Best piece of fatherly advice that you will offer your child one day? Communicate. No matter what happens communication will always be the one tool that can help make or break a situation

Best parenting tip/piece of advice? Always ensure that every member of your family respects one another, that includes child respecting parent and parent respecting child

What’s your favourite THI product? Oricom Baby Monitor Secure 100, Little Einstein Team up for adventure and I like the wall art stuff too.

We are happily celebrating Father’s Day and following on from yesterday’s Hip Dad profiles today we have two more ultra hip winners from our Hip Dad competition!

Name: Steven Wise
Lives: Adelaide, South Australia
Lives With: Wife Kate and eight-month-old son, Thomas

Tell us a bit about you and your family: Kate and I married in April 2008, and – much to our surprise – on our honeymoon we discovered we were expecting! Tom was born early 2009, and as he’s our first, it’s been quite an education and lots of fun.

I’ve been lucky to be working from home, so we’re both able to spend lots of time getting to know Tom, and vice versa. He’s quite a character and a true little boy -  I’m one of three boys myself so I know what my wife is in for!!

What makes you a ‘hip’ dad? I’m not sure how ‘hip’ I am, but I think Tom likes our long walks (Tom in pram, naturally) first thing every morning and it’s definitely father / son time. We make lots of friends on our walks as Tom is such a charmer.

How will you be spending fathers day? At my parent’s house with three generations of our family. Tom is the first grandchild so will be spoilt rotten, no doubt!

Best piece of fatherly advice that you will offer your child one day? Women are always right. (Just say ‘yes’, son…).

Best parenting tip/piece of advice? We didn’t use a dummy – in fact Tom rejected it early on – so instead he would suck on my little finger (I always cleaned it first, of course), which would settle him if he was upset. We picked this up from our paediatrician on our first visit. 

What’s you’re favourite THI product? Skip Hop Pronto Mini Changer - we take it everywhere as it’s so compact and convenient to use.

Name: Robert Jones
Lives: Rockhampton, Queensland
Lives With: My wife Rebecca and sons Luca (3.5 yrs) and Elliot (9 mths)

Best parenting tip/piece of advice? Go with your instincts!

What’s you’re favourite THI product? I keep my eye on the Read, Watch and Listen section – particularly the books. I love to read and it has rubbed off onto my sons that’s for sure!!

One more sleep to go – hope you’ve all planned your breakkie in bed menu for all the special Dad’s out there. Read our blog tomorrow to read about the final two winners of our Hip Dad competition!

A week or so ago we put a call out to all Hip Dads to enter a competition with the winning prize being a hip feature profile on our blog along with a nice little gift voucher to go shopping at The Hip Infant. We picked 6 winners and will share them with you in the lead up to father’s day!

These two Hip Dad’s both listed the same item for their fav Hip Infant item – snap!

Name: Terry Cumming
Lives: West Footscray, Melbourne, Victoria
Lives With: Lovely wife and cutest bub!

Tell us a bit about you and your family? Well other than being lovely and cute … my wife is the most caring and kind person that i know … and my beautiful little daughter is the happiest, most content little bub you will ever meet – thanks to mum!

What makes you a ‘hip’ dad? I don’t know really … maybe how bubs and I go shopping together in matching outfits with her on my shoulder?

How will you be spending fathers day? Morning in bed with the family … then on to celebrate at a restaurant that is named after our daughter’s namesake … with wife and bubs.

Best piece of fatherly advice that you will offer your child one day? To quote John Lennon … “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans” … don’t muck around .. get stuck into it.

Best parenting tip/piece of advice? Relax and do what feels right … for sure get advice … but YOU choose what feels right for you and your family.

What’s you’re favourite THI product? Rondeau Industries Custom Made Names

Name: Jacob Buma
Lives: Beldon (Perth, WA)
Lives With: My wife Louise and my daughter Sunny (5 months)

Tell us a bit about you and your family? Besides being a dad and husband I am finishing my final year of an engineering/commerce degree, and doing part time to make ends meet. As a young family, we love getting out and about in our free time, socialising with friends, going to parks, the beach (when it’s not raining), I play footy, and we both take turns playing mixed netball (while the one on the bench holds Sunny).  

What makes you a ‘hip’ dad? Because I study and work part time at home (sometimes in the office) I get the chance to spend heaps of time during the day entertaining and being entertained by my daughter. I have to make the most of it when she is asleep, but I love putting everything aside when she is awake to hang out with her. I particularly like reading her books and singing to her (even though I am aware that I don’t have the greatest voice!)

How will you be spending fathers day? We head off to church in the morning, before spending the afternoon with just the three of us, and then for dinner a dad’s style BBQ is planned at my brother-in-laws house with close family and relatives.  

Best piece of fatherly advice that you will offer your child one day? Enjoy life and love living!

Best parenting tip/piece of advice? Get your child in a good sleeping routine early on. Sunny goes down at 7.00pm still wide awake but will be asleep within 15min, I don’t generally hear her until about 7.00am the next morning (although my wife assures me that she still gets up once during the night).

What’s you’re favourite THI product? A ‘Sunny’ wooden name by Rondeau Industries

Tune in tomorrow when we feature two more Hip Dads from Queensland and South Australia!

I have a confession! It is only three sleeps til Fathers day and until an hour ago I had not even thought about  pressies for hubby!

I have decided the kids and I are going to do a combo of crafty and creative this year, after all he has everything he needs and is not much of a consumer so does not really want anything. His eyes light up every time the kids make something for him even if it is a lego tower, so I am pretty confident he is going to love our hand made gifts.

Our first project is this super cute photo frame from the lovely Martha Stewart you can download the template here and her instructions are easy to follow. We are doing a bit of a variation of this and using brown craft paper the kids will decorate it, then we will glue it onto a firm piece of card and laminate (the hipsters are obsessed with the laminating machine!) I am hoping it works out as well as I think it will.

In addition to our crafty gift, I stumbled upon these awesome coupons onLiving Locurto , for just $2.50 USD you upload the file containing all the goods you need for a fun gift and simply print, it even includes an adorable card. The kids are really excited about giving dad this and much to my suprise are even arguing about who is going to give dad the 20 minute back rub!

Be sure to catch up with our blog over the weekend, we will be getting the nitty gritty on fatherhood from six of our very hip dads.

We are looking for hip dad’s (and dad’s to be)  to profile to celebrate fathers day!

Simply email us amber@thehipinfant.com.au  and tell us in 25 words or less what makes your nominee a hip dad! Please also include a photo.

Each dad chosen will have 24 hours to fill out a few short questions just about him..yep it’s all about dad, he will love it!

We will then have the lucky task of selecting the hippest dad from each state to be profiled right here on our blog! Be quick and make sure your entries are creative as each profiled hip dad will recieve a $25 Hip Infant voucher (which will surely make them even hipper on the dad circuit!!).

Entries close Tuesday 2nd Sept.