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How To Get Dads To A Parenting Class? Ask Them To Read To Their Kid [NPR.org]

 

Even though studies show kids whose fathers take an active part in their lives are less disruptive and better adjusted socially, most programs that aim to up parenting skills are geared towards mothers.

And a lot of dads aren't eager to sign up for parenting classes. So researchers at New York University created a parenting class for dads that wasn't called a parenting class. Instead, it was pitched as academic readiness training for preschoolers. But the fathers, who were mostly low-income, Spanish-speaking residents of New York City, did improve their parenting skills. And their children's behavior language acquisition got a boost, too, the study finds.

"When someone tells you they're in a parenting course, the first thing that comes to your mind is, 'Well, what's wrong with their parenting?' " says Anil Chacko, an associate professor of counseling psychology at New York University and lead author on the study. "It assumes there is some deficit present."

This study, published last week in the Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, recruited 126 fathers from three Head Start centers. (Head Start centers provide programs that look to increase school readiness in young children from low-income families.) From there, fathers were either asked to participate in eight weekly sessions lasting 90 minutes each, or put on a waitlist as a control.



[For more of this story, written by Jessica Body, go to http://www.npr.org/sections/he...to-read-to-their-kid]

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Hello!

I am writing to share a wonderful new resource from the Vital Village Network’s friend and partner, Charles C. Daniels, Jr. Charles is the Founder and CEO of Fathers’ Uplift, which works to assist fathers in overcoming barriers (financial barriers, addiction barriers, oppressive barriers, emotional barriers and traumatic barriers) that prevent them from remaining engaged in their children’s lives.

Charles’s book β€œPre-Father Care: Prenatal Care for Fathers” is now available for purchase on Amazon here. This is a great tool for anyone working in mental health, parent engagement, or preparing to be a father themselves.

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