“IF I COULD HAVE
TAKEN MORE TIME
OFF, IT WOULD
HAVE MADE A
DIFFERENCE”
TOM WILLIAMS
REAL ESTATE AGENT,
FATHER OF STORM,
5, AND SLOANE, 3“My advice to any new
father is to just be there.
When my kids were very
young, I was aware that
my role was to be more
the support act, while
my wife, Rachel, was
the main headliner. While
it was stressful for me to
see her having to bear a
lot of it, I could still get
bottles or medicine or
change nappies or do
bath time. You do
whatever you can to
help out. If Rachel was
feeding, I could still
make her a cup of tea.
When Sloane was
born I had a few days off,
but I was presenting The
Daily Edition at the time.
In the media, you don’t
want to leave your job
for too long or they’ll
get somebody else to
do it! But the nature of
those work hours and the
time slot meant I could
spend the morning with
Rachel and the girls, go
in, shoot the show, then
come back and tend to
the family in time for the
evening shifts. I was
lucky, but if I could
have taken more time
off it would definitely
have made a difference
to the family.
When you’re at home
all the time, you get a far
better appreciation and
understanding for what
is happening behind the
scenes. You learn that
it’s not easy. I think any
man would benefit from
taking extended leave.”