Our 405th Dad in the Limelight is Eric Novak. I want to thank Eric for being a part of this series. It has been great getting connected with him and now sharing him with all of you.
1) Tell me about yourself, (as well as how you are in the limelight for my readers knowledge)
I’m a 44 year old married, father of four, living in Ajax, Ontario (Suburb of Toronto). I own a media consulting/production company called Modern Media Perspectives and am Editor in Chief of environmental website envirodad.com. I’m an automotive reviewer/journalist and one of only a few that specializes in eco-friendly and family-friendly vehicles. I’m also a keynote speaker on the environment and climate change. I’ve given a TEDx talk and have spoken to more than 25,000 Canadians, including close to 20,000 students about the reality of climate change, sustainability and the media’s role in the debate over climate change.
2) Tell me about your family
I have four children. My eldest son is 11, I have twin sons who are 9 and I have a daughter who is 4. One of my twins has been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome while my other two sons have been diagnosed with ADHD.
3) What has been the largest challenge you have had in being a father?
The biggest challenge has been trying to balance all the demands that come from being self-employed as well as the father of a large family. You could almost say that having your own business is like having another child since it takes so much of your time. Keeping a home office helps, as it allows me the flexibility to be able to help my wife get them to school in the morning and to be home when they get back.
Fatherhood is also a constant learning experience, and I often joke how my eldest son is my “Beta” child since every new stage of his life is a new stage of parenting for me and I am trying to figure out how to parent in this new stage of growing up.
4) What advice would you give to other fathers?
I have always believed in being an activist father and someone who is just as involved in the day to day parenting as is his spouse. Each time my wife was pregnant I tried to attend as many Dr’s appointments with her as I could. Parenting is and should always be a shared responsibility and I encourage father’s to be just as involved with all aspects of parenting as is the mother.
As an environmentalist I also encourage fathers to not view eco-friendly living as ‘alternative’ but rather as mainstream. I’m a pragmatic environmentalist and don’t expect us all to wear Birkenstocks (I don’t own a pair) or hug trees…but rather to understand, incorporate and to teach our children that respecting our environment is an investment in our child’s future – just like saving for their education. As the famous proverb goes “We have not inherited this planet from our ancestors, rather we are only borrowing it from our children.”
5) How have you come to balance parenthood and outside life?
This has always been a big challenge for me. My line of work doesn’t come with 9 to 5 or even Mon to Fri schedules, so the big challenge is always blocking off time where work and outside life don’t mix. I do my very best to keep
weekends as family time and only make rare exceptions to the rule. Admittedly the one area that has sacrificed is with personal time as I almost never find time to do some of the things I love like golfing in warm weather and skiing in the winter. In time I hope to learn how to strike a better balance between business, family and personal time again.
6) What have you learned from the fathers that you have interacted with?
I’ve learned that fatherhood has changed dramatically in the past generation or two. I’ve learned from other Dad’s where I’ve been doing it right and where I need to improve. I’ve learned from other Dad’s that they are struggling with the same issues that I have, but I have also seen how Dad’s prefer to be far more involved in parenting than they used to be.
7) What else would you share regarding your experiences as a father thus far?
Fatherhood has been both the most challenging and the most rewarding thing I have ever done. It will challenge you in ways you never could have expected but it will fulfill you in ways you likely never thought were possible.
8) What have been the most memorable experiences that you have had thus far as a parent?
Being at the birth of all 4 of my children. Seeing my first child being born was likely the most powerful emotional moment I had ever felt. I’ll always remember how awesome it felt when each child was an infant and they fell asleep in my arms. I never forget when I taught my son’s how to ride a bike (still working on my daughter). I’ll also never forget the first time I was invited to speak at the school my children attended and how excited my kids were in the crowd when they saw me. I could list so many more memorable experiences, but for now I’ll just keep them locked up inside.
If you have any questions for Eric, please leave a comment here and I will make sure that he gets them so that he may be able to respond!
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