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your trips to supermarkets, parks and playgrounds. People are a lot nicer to you than normal when you have young ’un attached to you and will generally hold open doors and talk to you without a lawyer present. If you are fully into feeding and nappy-changing, good for you. But keep it to yourself; other guys just don’t want to know.

Stage 2

Age of child: four to seven years Activity time: two hours to one day When the child has either grown to the point of being able to construct sentences or Mum is preoccupied by the arrival of a rival, your day has really come. At this stage, you are almost certainly going to win the title of Best Dad in the World, at least until your child is seven. After that, you must realise your child is a consumer like everyone else and

more quality time with your kids. To do this, however, you must have imagination, planning and cunning. The list of places, activities and outings in Hong Kong is longer than you might think and if you combine it with your own personal interests, you should enjoy a prolonged period of being Top Dad. Try camping, fshing, hiking, go-carting, riding, sailing or kayaking (not all in one day!) to see which sparks your child’s interest.

Stage 3

Age of child: seven to 12 years By stage 3, the concept of spending time with your child should not be totally alien to you. Bear in mind that the period when you don’t mutually embarrass each other is short-lived. Try to fnd regular events and activities that you both enjoy. Sport is an obvious choice and there is a very wide range of options available in Hong Kong, from basketball, badminton and soccer to swimming, tennis, mini-rugby and golf. If you can coach your kid’s team, all well and good. But even if you’re not on the feld, make sure that you take them to the game (even if Mum comes along sometimes). If you can fnd that couple of extra hours every week during these formative years, you may grow up to be a well-

erson.

ows, travelling overseas end breaks ensures memories. From Hong ips to Singapore, ket and Bali are all dable, and if you do han play in the surf will be the richer for s several millennia of eatest biodiversity on a multitude of cultures, ays the option of a in Beijing, Shanghai, . The fringe beneft her who gets a nice on her own cannot be d …

silent), but keep it in your pocket. Your opposable thumbs can be put to better use tying shoe laces or catching a ball.

Context

It is important to know the age of your child to carry out appropriate activities. If you can’t remember, check their passports or ask an older sibling. To get started, make a list of the things that you are good at and enjoy doing. If you enjoy the outing or excel in the activity, in all likelihood your kids will as well. For safety reasons, you should probably check to see which aspects of your list translate into child-friendly activities.

Stage 1

Age of child: newborn to three years Activity time: one to two hours At this point, your child is still in a pushchair or a baby-holding-front-loading piece of webbing. This time is

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