In Christchurch we still have a weekly father’s playgroup. Contact Peter Walker on  (03) 982 2440 or peter@fatherandchild.org.nz for more information.

One of us has changed schools for an early teenage daughter. This was a tough decision as they had been in a new, local school, it was a forward thinking school with no PE, community projects etc, but their child was quite academic, didn’t seem to be getting enough stimulation or challenge, has moved to school further away, Dad is now taxi man too, but it seems worthwhile so far.

One of us knows a ‘Rigger’ who has travelled the world, working on high rise building projects and wants to introduce this sort of trade training in to NZ schools. We all lamented the lack of woodwork/metalwork/home economics nowadays.

One of us had children in trouble at school recently, followed mates to shops instead of school, one of them was caught shoplifting, not the first time. We understand that kids get distracted, we only hope that they learn these lessons while they’re young and what is right and wrong.

We appreciated the influence of sport on our children, especially once they take it seriously, opportunities for travel and professional careers are fantastic, but they need to learn about life balance too especially the prospect of injuries, or depression if the career path does not eventuate.

We talked about how it is true that it takes a community to raise good children, but that is not always all that’s needed, in some cases that implies that the parents are excused, in reality the parents are vital and mustn’t neglect kids.

One of us, caught between his children and a wife who wants to move to Nelson to be nearer her family, was reminded that there is free counselling and mediation available from the Family Court, if they had not already. These sessions apparently start with separate interviews, then they see each couple together, hoping to avoid court, plus that if you get a good mediator/counsellor, it’s great!

We talked about how it is normal for relationships to go up and down, especially around childbirth. Fathers need to be sensitive to the changes mothers go through.

We also talked about the agony of knowing that if you leave, or your children are led to believe that’s what happened, it can leave a bad memory or cause trouble later.

The third ‘focus on fathers’ week in Waitakere is in full swing and will end on Sunday, Father’s Day.

The event was opened on Monday, 31 August, by Mayor Bob Harvey who felt that ‘we have not supported fathers as much as we could have and should have’. ‘Essentially Men’ founder Rex McCann urged dads to introduce their children to other men as well, and Father & Child coordinator Harald Breiding-Buss (image left) spoke about involved fatherhood being just as important for girls as for boys. (more…)

A new study by Nelson researchers David Mitchell and Philip Chapman on experiences of separated non-resident fathers found that research participants were either unaware of existing services or considered them unfriendly towards men.
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Waitakere is once again hosting a whole week of events for and about fathers leading up to Father’s Day. For more info see here.

We have been approached to help recruit especially solo fathers to this study in order to make it as representative as possible of the population. See here for details. You’re asked to use the study code SOLOD if that applies to you.

Fathers are called on to participate in a study on their experiences of a difficult birth of their baby. See here for more info.

Central Auckland Barnardos have encouraged us to contact all Barnardos teams and share our message and resources. We are part of the publicity and event coordinators for Waitakere City’s Focus on Fathering Week. The series of events leading to fathers day celebrations requires, local news and regional awareness.

We have a start date August 18th for the Waitakere Teen Dads Support Program with HealthWest, ChangeWorks and Barnardos in Waitakere City. This is the first teen father support project in Auckland.

Child Youth and Family at Youth Justice North engaged us to provide two sessions on Healthy Choices re Fathering. Based on positive feedback, plus our work in Christchurch, we have designed and submitted a 4-6week program proposal and await their decision.

This program helps young men appreciate the changes in lifestyle, relationships and commitments required to be a good father. Our research and experience, along with the Barnardos teen dads survey and Changeworks course and related workshops which have been used, lead us to believe that these courses lead to long term improvements.

We are being contacted for information and resources by many groups, ManAlive in Henderson, IRD in Whangerei and a counselling for couples after separation crew in Hamilton. As the printing of magazines for New Babies is currently halted awaiting funding, plus there are limits on our ability to print Dads and Babies booklets in bulk, with Auckland we are struggling to keep up.

Our Auckland office has been busier than usual in a number of ways. Our telephone support commitment has seen new clients weekly and a Mauri Ora Fathers group has been running since February. Activity has continued to increase, at all hours, during the period that our New Babies Edition – Father and Child magazines were distributed via the Bounty Packs.

We are also being asked to consider alternative advertising or sponsorship options for our New Babies magazines, which will concede some of the independence, credibility and product association preferences we were aiming to achieve. We hope that funders appreciate our gratitude for their type of support before we have to concede.

We receive a number of calls from Citizens Advice and similar offices, so need to produce and print regular leaflets, flyers, correspondence and meeting notices.

We talked about our mission, and we tried a few words together, please comment on the above text and introduction statement.
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Father & Child Trust is looking for fathers who have day-to-day care of at least one child eight years or under in either Christchurch or Auckland. The Trust is conducting what is believed to be the first study in New Zealand on the circumstances, issues and support of solo fathers and their young children. (more…)