Streamer Dad
One new father’s thoughts on streaming regularly even after the big day.
A few months ago my wife gave birth to our first child. While in theory I knew it would be a huge lifestyle change, the exhausting reality of fatherhood still floored me like a freight train. Despite this, I’ve managed to maintain a regular Twitch streaming schedule and, slowly but surely, continuous channel growth. Here are my thoughts on the experience so far, and One Weird Trick you can also use to find success (Twitch partners will hate you)!
While written from the perspective of a new parent, at least some of these suggestions should be applicable to anyone who is going through a period of personal transition but is still interested in growth on Twitch.
Exhibition
One of the first things a new parent will have to decide when it comes to their child and streaming is whether they want to proudly show their progeny off to the strangers of the world or keep their little one protected from the curious eyes of others. In my case my wife was no stranger on my streams, often popping in to say hi to the viewers and even occasionally streaming with me. As such it was only natural to include my daughter after she was born. Others, for either personal or monetary reasons, decide to completely separate their public Twitch personas and their private life. Don’t feel tied down to your previous choices; if you want to share your family with the world even though they were previously kept out of the public eye, go for it! If you used to always stream with your significant other but want your private life to become private once again, do it! The Internet is far more forgiving of personal reinvention than high school ever was.
Judgement
Now, if you do decide to show your little one off to the world, prepare yourself for judgement. For whatever reason, humans feel that the manner in which you raise your offspring is very much their business and some won’t be shy in letting you know what they think you could do better. While it’s easy to blow off all this “advice” as the meddling of busybodies, you may occasionally run into nuggets worthy of your consideration. For example, near the end of one of my streams on GOGcom I decided to pull a Rafiki and put my daughter on camera. After showing her off for a minute, I placed her on my shoulder to relax while I gave my stream-ending spiel. As I did so one viewer desperately wrote in chat something to the effect of, “Flaose, your baby’s head needs better support!” I looked at my baby, double-checked that her head was being supported, let the chatter know that everything was fine, and finished signing off. However, curious as to why they had gotten so worked up I soon after loaded the VOD and was mortified to see that, because of the view angle between the camera and my shoulder, it really did look like my daughter’s head was titled at an awkward and potentially dangerous angle. I’m glad that this GOGling cared enough to publicly call me out on what could have been a serious case of parental neglect.
Neglect
While this example is the one that still remains at the forefront of my mind, it isn’t the only case where the risk of neglect has reared its ugly head. In hindsight it’s obvious but it took me a while to realize that you can’t be both a good caregiver to an infant and a good host at the same time. While it’s important for children to learn patience, self-control, and that they aren’t their parents’ slavemasters, humans under the age of two are for the most part incapable of understanding logic, reason, or that you promise you’ll get that bottle ready as soon as you finish off this boss.
Your child deserves to have their basic needs met now, not just when it’s convenient for you and your viewers. The problem with this of course is that it clashes completely with the responsibilities of a good stream host, one who is attentive to chat, maintains the attitude followers have come to expect (whether it be surly, salty, or sweet), and does their best to put on a good show. It’s simply impossible to be attentive to both your audience and your offspring at the same time. To avoid neglecting your child in an effort to put on a good show, or neglecting your audience in order to fulfill your parental duties, set up a consistent streaming schedule so that someone else can regularly take the lead in childcare while you take the lead in being a good stream host.
One Weird Trick
In fact I think the most important thing that has helped me keep streaming, and experience channel growth while doing so, is setting up a schedule and sticking with it. That’s not to say that I’ve tried to keep the exact same schedule as before — my pre-baby schedule was about twice as heavy as my current one — but setting aside fixed streaming hours each week, hours that my wife can regularly make available to be in charge of caring for our daughter, has given me the time I needed to grow as a streamer and as a host.
However you choose to set up your schedule, make sure that it’s something that you can maintain long-term. Sure, you may be able to start off your new adventure streaming every morning before work, or every evening after the kiddo’s gone to bed, but after a seemingly endless string of busy days and sleepless nights is it something you’re going to want to continue? Consistency has always been the key to healthy growth for content creators and an inconsistent schedule will usually lead to inconsistent (or even negative) growth.
Epilogue
The beauty of Twitch as a platform is that you are free to forge your own path. I’m just one new father trying to find his way in the streaming world; take everything I say with a grain of PJSalt. If you remember just one thing, make it this: consistency breeds consistency. In the end, parenting and streaming are about relationships. If your child and your audience know what to expect from you, as well as what you expect from them, you‘ll be both a better parent and a better streamer.
What has helped you to be a successful streamer during times of transition? Join the conversation in the comments section below.
