Encouraging Dads To Be More Involved
Newcastle Herald
Saturday September 2, 2006
DADS can celebrate Father's Day tomorrow knowing they are being encouraged to be more involved with their children's lives.
Statistics show that dads are taking a much more active role in the raising of their children, but services are still catering mostly for mums, the director of the Family Action Centre, Judi Geggie, said yesterday.Over four years to 2004, the centre's team studied services ranging from pre-natal to early childhood and schools to try to get them to cater for dads as well.They came up with a National Framework For Father-Inclusive Practice that is now featured on a specially designed website.The website, launched by the University of Newcastle yesterday, has guidelines and advice on how family services such as prenatal classes, child care, playgrounds and school support groups can include fathers.At Jesmond Public School, the centre's work has sparked the development of a new fathers' group being coordinated by David Owens, a casual primary school teacher with a six-year-old daughter at the school."It's great to see fathers having fun with their kids, it's not seen as a masculine thing to do with other people around, it's usually a private thing," Mr Owens said.The group is planning a number of activities for dads such as kite-building workshops, camping weekends and reading classes.
© 2006 Newcastle Herald