Bringing Fathers In: Resources for Advocates, Practitioners and Researchers

From the Fatherhood Institute of the United Kingdom, this series on fatherhood is a library of one-page downloadable, evidence-based PDF format documents intended for an international audience of health, education, and social care professionals, policymakers, programme managers and designers, researchers and evaluators, and mothers and fathers. Through support of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, the institute has creaated pages designed as tools for briefings and as focus topics for discussion. They may be copied and posted from the website.

Contents include:
Four topic sheets that focus on ‘why’ to engage dads including:

• Making the most of fathers to... Improve maternal and infant health - For example: "Mothers who have calm and supportive birth partners have better labours, so . . . Make sure dads are knowledgeable and well prepared for their role as birth partners, and understand the importance of their presence in the labour and delivery process."
• Making the most of fathers to... Reduce violence in children’s lives - For example: "Making men into fathers works best if you give them substantial opportunities for caretaking right from the start.  The more infant care fathers do, the more satisfied and sensitive they tend to be. Caretaking causes brain and hormonal changes in men (as in women) that facilitate nurturing and bonding. Within 15 minutes of holding a baby, men experience raised levels of hormones associated with tolerance/trust (oxytocin), sensitivity to infants (cortisol) and brooding/lactation/bonding (prolactin). "
• Making the most of fathers to… Support children’s early learning
• Why paternity leave matters for young children

Five topic sheets that focus on ‘how’ to engage dads effectively including:

• Making the least of fathers... Five common mistakes - For example: "Failing to invite fathers because you assume they ‘won’t turn up’, ‘aren’t uninterested’, ‘aren’t there’ or will be ‘trouble’. "
• Making the most of fathers... Five ‘best practice’ tips - For example: "Reflect on your own attitudes to, and experiences with, fathers and men – and wider cultural expectations"
• Ten top tips for attracting fathers to programmes - For example: "Make fathers’ engagement expected and important - right from the start. Put ‘father-facts’ up on notice boards or in parent-newsletters that explain and underline research findings about the importance of fathers to children’s development. Display images of dads – photos, posters, collages, children’s drawings. Whatever it takes to make dads visible."
• Advocating for involved fatherhood - Reflections for advocates
• Father-inclusive evaluation - reflections for researchers and program designers

According to the website,all topic sheets are backed up by free online research summaries and a resources list including:

• "Dads and hormones
• Fathers at the birth
• Supportive fathers, healthy mothers
• Fathers and attachment
• Reducing violence in children’s lives
• Co-parenting and early child development
• Fathers’ impact on learning and literacy
• Fathers, sensitivity and parenting style
• The impact of fathers’ own characteristics on children
• Paternity leave
• Additional resources for advocates, practitioners and evaluators"