The first thing I do when I get home from diving training – at about 5pm, having been up since 7.30am – is give my son Robbie a squeeze. It’s one of the most exciting things about getting home. You can see the road from the house, and yesterday when I came home he was waiting in the window, waving. It makes my day. Before I was a parent, I’d have said that diving came home with me. But it’s a lot easier to leave it behind when you’re looking after a two-year-old who’s climbing over everything. In a normal Olympic year, I’d be travelling here, there and everywhere to training camps and competitions and I’d barely get to see Robbie. He’s grown and developed so much in lockdown, and I would have missed that. It’s given me perspective, and I’ve realised what matters most: keeping everyone healthy.
One of our lockdown projects was to make our house cosier. We live in a converted factory with exposed brick and wood, which is cool, but not so cosy. It feels more like a homey home now: we’ve added lots of rugs and pillows. We have a roof terrace, so could get outside during quarantine.
I love food. Cooking is one of my favourite pastimes. In lockdown my husband [screenwriter Dustin Lance Black] has been cooking more – we’ve been experimenting with Asian and Mexican food. Now that I’m back training, though, everything is pretty healthy. Robbie eats what we eat – just a little bit less. But that boy can eat!
After an early dinner, I’ll usually read to Robbie and we’ll start winding down. He wasn’t the best sleeper, so nailing down a routine has been important for us. I’ve partnered with Johnson’s Baby, and their three-step bedtime routine has really helped. But I think the smell [of the baby lotion] has really helped, too: he knows that the smell means bedtime. He’s out like a light, which is nice for us as we can chill. Then I’ll FaceTime my mum or grandparents or friends. Obviously, we haven’t been able to see as many people as we usually would, so it’s been important to stay in the loop.
Often, people give you unsolicited advice about parenting. One thing I’ll say is not to listen to anyone: you know your child better than anyone else. It’s great when you are able to talk with other parents, but everyone does things differently.
I don’t do anything strenuous after training. To unwind, I like knitting and crochet. Since lockdown, I’ve been knitting hats, scarves and ponchos. I crochet jumpers and headbands. You can just be in the moment and switch off and step away from your phone before bed.
I shower when Robbie goes to bed. I don’t like baths and we have a hot tub that I don’t like getting in: I spend my whole day in the water, so the last thing I want to do at home is get wet again.
The last thing we do before we go to sleep is ask each other about the best and worst parts of our day. Even if the worst part was one of us annoying the other. We don’t see much of each other in the day, so that little bit before bed is nice.
Tom Daley is an ambassador for Johnson’s Baby. This interview originally appeared in a November 2020 edition of Grazia.
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