Long gone are the days when dad went to work, came home to a dinner (and probably a finely poured martini) and was thought of as an occasional babysitter. The number of dads staying home with their kiddos is on the rise, according to data from the Pew Research Center.
Given the ever-evolving role that fathers play, daddy bootcamps are popping up to help men overcome first-time parenting anxieties. Even though there’s no shortage of prenatal classes, many are geared towards the maternal experience. This can leave dad feeling left out or unsure about his ability to parent his soon-to-be new baby.
photo: Leandro Vendramini via Pexels
Professor at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine and an attending physician at Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago, Dr. Craig Garfield, told NPR, “Dad’s parenting questions can fall to the wayside.” Garfield added, “Because each parent holds a separate role in their child’s life, expectant mothers and fathers may seek different answers to their parenting questions.”
To address this, and other related issues, classes such as Boot Camp for New Dads are helping fathers-in-the-making to get ahead of the learning curve. The non-profit, which was founded way back in 1990, has helped more than 325,000 men to learn about dad-ing.
According to the Boot Camp’s website it’s a, “Unique father-to-father, community-based workshop that inspires and equips men of different economic levels, ages and cultures to become confidently engaged with their infants, support their mates and personally navigate their transformation into dads.” To learn more about this baby-centric boot camp, visit the Boot Camp for New Dads website here.
—Erica Loop
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