Caring Dads

Caring Dads is designed to teach men fathering techniques that put the needs of their children first. They learn to replace violent, intimidating or shaming parenting practices with positive, empathetic, and nurturing child-centred techniques. The focus is on how dads can adapt their behaviour to the changing needs of children from their babyhood all the way through to their teenage years. Equally important, the men have to reflect on the impact of the maltreatment and abuse of their wives or partners upon their children. They are taught skills for improving not only their relationships with their children but also with their children’s mothers/caretaking-mothers.

The groups are run as facilitated, interactive discussions. Participants meet with the Programme’s coordinator and their referrer before it begins to set individual learning outcomes as well as to talk through and ask questions about the course and how we run it.  Each of the 17 sessions is two hours long and looks at different aspects of parenting: the influences of our own experience of being parented, relationship with child’s mum and at the various stages of child development.

The next Caring Dads Programme will start on 19th March 2024.

Please note that participants on the Caring Dads Programme need to be referred by a professional working with dad and/or the family.  This could be a family support worker, school professional, health professional, social worker, probation officer, welfare support worker, etc.  Make a referral via our online referral form or for further details, email Suzy Coulson or call on 07594 879615.

Learner Dads

Learner Dads offers expectant dads the opportunity to take part in a free workshop held on Saturday mornings in Norwich and Great Yarmouth from May through to November 2024.

These workshops – featuring up to 10 dads in each session – will be led by experienced facilitators, are designed to help men prepare for birth and what comes next, in terms of supporting their partner, bonding with their baby and taking care of themselves. The idea is to explore the issues existing dads have told us they wish they’d had more knowledge of when they were expecting their babies. Each workshop will run for three hours. 

Specifically, the workshops will cover core topics such as:

• how to best support our partners during labour
• how to bond with our new baby
• what to do when our baby cries
• what changes to expect after the baby is born
• post-natal depression in dads

In addition, there will be scope to answer other questions expectant dads may have

Post-birth, Learner Dads will provide additional support via WhatsApp conversations and a check-in phone call to catch-up on how things are going.

To apply for a place email referrals@menscraft.org.uk with your name, contact details and the due date of your baby.

Please put LEARNER DADS WORKSHOP in the subject and state whether you’re interested in attending Norwich or Great Yarmouth.

Learner Dads is funded by Norfolk Community Foundation.