CONGRATULATIONS JOHN YOUNG Our 2022 Father’s Day Winner! My Dad!

My name is Alex, I am 13 years old. I have 2 sisters and a whangai brother.

Some kids have a sporty dad, some kids have a part-time dad, some kids have a serious dad. We have a good dad, actually, we have a great dad. If we look past the fact that he can only cook 1 meal, with delicious mince and undercooked pasta, and that he has a plethora of terrible dad jokes, he is the best dad in the world!

We have been lucky enough to always have our dad. He constantly supports us no matter what decisions we make, he tells us when we have great ideas and he tells us when we have questionable ideas, but either way, he constantly backs us 100 percent. He is proud of our achievements and of our efforts, even when we don’t achieve when we want to.

He is always there in the background ready for when we come to him with questions or for advice, he comes to our games and our shows and is ready to pick us up at 3 o’clock in the morning if we need him to. Dad doesn’t believe in gender roles, he is an even contributor to household chores and leads by example when teaching us how to treat a wife/partner in relationships (mum and dad have been together for 22 years and he still obviously adores her).

Dad is one of my biggest supporters and i’m so proud to say he is openly an ally to the LGBTQIA+ community. Dad is an amazing nurse, whenever we go grocery shopping or even just to town, patients always say “hi” to dad and tell us how wonderful he is and how much his care meant to them, this fills my heart.

Last year dad had a heart attack and needed a cardiac bypass, a few weeks later he shattered his lower leg, needing emergency surgery and was away from home for 5 months. We missed him so much, and the covid-19 lockdowns meant we couldn’t see him very often but he was always there at the other end of the phone when we needed him, always putting us first.

I don’t really think it’s possible to express, in words, just how amazing my dad is, but if you try to imagine a giant six foot 3 teddy bear hugging you and protecting you, loving you and teaching you right from wrong, playing minecraft with you and taking you to watch your favourite movies, telling terrible dad jokes and making delicious crunchy pasta, then you just might get a tiny idea of how fantastic our dad is! The best dad ever

Alex, Inglewood.