A new book is available for first-time fathers looking for information on the first year of their baby.
The ‘manual’ was written by three Wellington dads, who set up the web site ‘DIY Father’ in 2006 and did some fulltime baby caring themselves.
Meanwhile Father & Child’s publication New Babies Edition, which is being distributed for free in hospitals in the three main centres, is at risk of being discontinued as some major community funders the publication depends on had to absorb heavy losses from their investments.
A Christchurch dad is wrestling with Child Youth and Family (CYF) to have his six months old daughter placed in his care.
CYF has removed the child from the mother at birth, as all the mother’s other children have ended up in CYF care due to neglect.
The father had been standing by to take care of the child, but CYF decided to place the baby with foster parents and order a paternity test first although neither parent had raised any doubt about parentage.
The father has also undergone one-on-one babycare training with Father & Child Trust in preparation for taking care of his daughter.
Although the test proved the father’s paternity, and no concerns had been raised about his ability to care for a baby, CYF wants to leave the baby in foster care saying that she has now bonded with the foster parents and removing her would not be in the child’s best interest.
The case highlights what some fathers’ groups claim is a bias by the agency against fathers.
In another Christchurch case, CYF made no attempt to contact the father of a 4 year old girl after the death of her mother.
The girl was moved into foster care with a woman, who the father claims has made anti-male comments. The Family Court has since revoked CYF’s custody over the child, opening the way for a greater involvement of the father and possibly day-to-day care.
Dunedin may soon have its own Father & Child branch again, if local dad Graham Dewhirst gets his way.
A separately incorporated Father & Child Trust Otago was first established in 1998 and operated out of premises in Moray Place but became dysfunctional due to political disagreements a few years later.
Graham, who was involved with the old Trust for a short time, wants to set up the new group under the structure of the existing Father & Child Trust, which has branches in Christchurch and Auckland.
He has a nine year old daughter Maria and a seven year old son Joseph, and from involvement in their early years he has made good connections with Parents Centre, the Homebirth Association and other groups.
He says the parenting organisations need to work together to do what’s best for the whole family and hopes that Father & Child can do their bit.
Graham separated from his partner five years ago and they now share parenting, with him having contact with their children most days of the week.
He says he would like to establish a group that represents a good mix of dads with different family backgrounds.
Contact: Graham Dewhirst, dewey@xtra.co.nz, ph 03 476 6463
The various men’s organisations in Christchurch have given birth to a new service called the Canterbury Men’s Centre (CMC). The CMC was originally proposed at the 2005 Men’s Issues Summit and since then the guys involved have been diligently working away at creating it and defining its purpose.
The CMC opened in January with significant funding support from the Canterbury Community Trust, Lotteries, and the Christchurch City Council and has since been looking at the existing education, health, and social systems to see what can be done to improve them for men and fathers.
Donald Pettitt, the CMC manager commented that ‘so far I’m amazed at the goodwill inside community groups for men and fathers’ and has found that the various managers and workers are wanting to improve services for men but are confused about how to do it.
Donald has joined the Canterbury District health Board’s Consumer Representative Group and the Council of Social Services representing the men’s sector in both cases. He is also currently nominated for the board of Partnership Health.
Initiatives by the CMC so far include; a series of workshops for health/community workers during Men’s Health Week in June 2008, the formation of a Men in Social/Health/Education Services monthly network group, and a brochure that brings together on one sheet all the services focusing on men in Canterbury.
Other possible projects under development include Men’s Sheds, Men’s Health Initiatives, A National Men’s Well-Being and Health collective, and an extension of services for men and fathers out of Christchurch and into Canterbury.
The CMC is also providing one on one support and referral services for men that are either in crisis or are looking to try something new.
If you are interested in hearing more about the CMC or want to talk to Donald about services for men give him a call at 03 940 9487 or email
Waitakere City is holding a ‘Focus on Fathering Week’ again, building on last year’s events.
This year’s celebration, coordinated by Promoting Great Parenting, Violence Free Waitakere and the Waitakere City Council includes free mall displays, seminars and Health Checks, all ending with the Fathers Day picnic, from 9—2.30 at the Tui Glen Reserve.
The opening dinner, to be hosted by Mayor Bob Harvey, will include singers, entertainers and guest speakers Pio Terei, Cindy Kiro, and Alfred Ngaro. Telephone 837 4849 for $15.00 tickets, be quick as seats are limited.
An overnight ‘Journey To The Falls’ retreat, for fathers with their ‘tramping aged’ sons, sets off at 2pm on Saturday 6th, plus midweek evening forums are planned for Pacific fathers and disabled Dads.
Further Fathering Week fun will include a photographic display in the West City Mall and evening seminars at the Kelston Community Centre on Tuesday 2nd plus, any men can check out a Health Bus in Railside Ave for free tests.
Please note – at the Father’s Day picnic, be prepared to help as this is a combined day with Project Twin Streams.
Now your baby, too, can sleep like a star. Since April the ‘Hushamok’ has been available in New Zealand, and comes with celebrity endorsement.
Gwen Stefani apparently considers it the ‘coolest thing ever’ and Brad and Angelina Pitt-Jolie keep one of them ‘on every level of their French Chateau’ for their twin babies, according to the New Zealand promoter Handle Communications.
The top-of-the-shelf product (RRP $749) claims to help with colicky or reflux babies and to help prevent flat heads with a specialised inserted mattress.
A rapper “dedicated to bringing a different representation of masculinity to hip-hop culture” may make you wonder what kind of representation he’s talking about and whether you’d approve of it.
Bomani Armah (top left), who considers himself a hip-hop artist and an educator, has made some waves in the US with music videos such as ‘Read a Book’, and now ‘Peek-a-Boo’.
It’s all on Youtube, and ‘Peek-a-boo’ deserves some credit for its depiction of a confident dad who is doing more than just clowning around.
Radio NZ National’s 9 to noon programme helped Father & Child Trust raise awareness for postnatal depression in men.
Father and Child Auckland Coordinator Brendon Smith and Wellington-based Board member and GP Mark Stephenson featured in a 20-minute segment on the topic, in which both the personal and the clinical aspects of the illness were discussed.
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The Families Commission has contracted Christchurch researchers Research First led by Carl Davidson to undertake a literature review of fathers research and a representative survey on Kiwi dads. This will be the first study on any aspect of fatherhood since 1999 involving more than a handful of respondents.
The Commission wants to base the new survey on some of the results of the ‘Fathering in the New Millenium’ study conducted by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner in 1999. 92% of the 2,000 respondents interviewed for that study believed there should be a social expectation of equal joint parenting, and 65% believed even day-to-day care should be split evenly between mothers and fathers.
Father and Child Trust were very proud to be at the Parent and Child Show last weekend in Auckland. Our small stand was the first time a dedicated fathers group was present, and our position between the main stage and the cafeteria gave us great foot traffic.
We shared songs to sing at bedtime, magazines and stories. We had many thanks, and comments like ‘It was great to find someone supporting Dads in this oestrogen dominated role.’
So we hope for many more magazine subscribers, website visitors and new faces.
We meet every Monday at 11am for ‘Jingle and Jive’ with toddler age kids,
or this Monday evening, our group meeting 7-9pm, all welcome.
Meetings: Onehunga Community Center
83 Church St, beside Onehunga Library.
Contact: Brendon Smith 021 892 980
