Plunket has joined the ranks of mainstream organisations setting up a parenting course specifically for dads.

The course, called ‘Dads4Dads’ is trialed in Wellington at the moment, and Plunket is hoping to roll it out nationwide. Initial facilitators include Scott Lancaster, who runs the diyfather.com web site..

So far no organisation has successfully managed to roll out a parenting course for fathers nationwide, generally because of lack of interest from the fathers.

The dearth of local research on fathers may be alleviated in the next year or so, as both the Families Commission and the Father & Child Trust are planning research projects.

The Families Commission wants to build on a 1999 survey by the Office of the Children’s Commissioner, which tried to identify barriers to involved fatherhood.

“We’re looking at the obstacles to fathering and what information and services fathers want and need. We want fathers to be as fully and confidently engaged with their families as possible,” said newly appointed Commissioner, Kim Workman.

In particular the Commission feels that there is a need for quantitative, representative research on these issues.

The Father & Child Trust has applied for funding with the new Lotteries Community Sector Research Fund for a study on custodial fathers with young children under eight, in cooperation with Canterbury University Men’s Health lecturer Jeffrey Gage.

The study aims to identify the support needs of both the fathers and the children of these families.

Although a whopping 24,000 fathers in New Zealand live as sole parents with dependent children, according to 2006 Census data, both local and overseas research is extremely scarce.

The Families Commission’s ‘Couch Poll ‘, a regular internet-based survey, found that respondents to special ‘Families Day’ questions about fathers felt better attitudes are needed.

However, only a small number of people responded to the poll (142), and 22% of them were female.

When asked to tick the three most important things that could be done to support fathers, ‘better attitudes from society’ came out on top (46%) followed by ‘special parenting programmes for fathers’ (33%), ’better paternal leave provisions’ (32%) and ‘more flexible working hours’ (32%).

‘Partners’ and ‘friends’ were the most important support people (71% and 65%). A majority also stated that they would attend a parenting course if one was available, or had already done so, either at work (56%) or outside of it (53%).

Antenatal classes received a hammering, with more than half of respondents saying that they felt excluded from them. Three quarters felt that there was nothing about parenting in them and that it was entirely focused on birth and practicalities.

The respondents also showed a preference for written or internet-based parenting information, with 80% saying they would use, or are already using, father-specific written information, and 72% internet-based information.

Active church members appeared strongly represented in the survey, with 28% naming a pastor/vicar or similar as an important support person.

Australian ‘at-risk’ mums rate their partners slightly higher as ‘good fathers’ if they are not the biological fathers of the children, according to a study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in August.

According to lead researcher Lawrence Berger, stepfathers were more likely than biological fathers to share a mother’s parenting views, and show a higher level of cooperation.

However, mothers’ more positive views about step-fathers may have been influenced by the fact that they were compared to a biological father they had broken up with, while mothers living with the biological fathers of their children has no such comparison.

Good news about step-parents is rare: Statistics from both New Zealand and overseas show substantially increased child abuse rates in homes with a live-in step-parent.

However other research has found that a positive relationship with a step-parent can contribute to better attitudes about sex in adolescents.

Some Men Missing - Callister

Finding the ‘missing men’ is a key goal to a new study headed by Victoria University research fellow Paul Callister. The study addresses concerns about data quality when it comes to men, and the research brief states that “there is a group of men who are actually ‘missing’ in terms of educational participation and attainment, from family life, in labour market participation and in terms of reaching old age”.
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A literature review undertaken by the Maxim Institute, generally considered a Right-Wing Think Tank, found that fathers do indeed provide a unique contribution to their children’s lives. The benefits of father involvement ‘held true after controlling for a range of factors’.
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A study published in the Australian Journal for Early Childhood found that in all but the highest quality childcare centres increased levels of stress hormones are found in children.
Researchers Sims, Guilfoyle and Parry measured cortisol levels in the saliva of children attending childcare. Cortisol is a hormone produced in response to stress, and generally is highest in the morning before gradually declining through the day.
The study found that, except for childcare centres rated by Australian government standards as ‘High Quality’ , cortisol levels in children’s saliva tended to increase further rather than decline, indicating a chronic stress status.

Panel members at a public meeting in Christchurch marking ‘White Ribbon Day’ agreed that the government’s approach to family violence is flawed.
White Ribbon Day is originally a Canadian initiative asking men to wear a white ribbon to show they are against violence against women.
The panel members, Ken Clearwater from Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, Harald Breiding-Buss from Father & Child, Daryl Gregory from He Waka Tapu and Barrister Steven van Bohemen all warned that lumping together domestic violence with child abuse can lead to worse outcomes for children.
Gregory advocated a family approach in all but the most severe cases of domestic violence, and said that he thinks the Domestic Violence Act needed to be scrapped and the issue looked at anew.
Several members in the audience felt that White Ribbon Day further perpetrates the myth of men (and only men) being inherently violent. One member called for domestic violence accusations to be properly investigated, like any other crime.

A well-fathered rat?

Researchers at the University of Magdeburg, Germany, found that fathers encourage brain development—in rats.
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Employers have to grant a request for flexible working hours by an employee with dependent children under a new law passed in November.
Employers can only refuse this request under certain circumstances, including:
Re-organising the work around other staff, or recruiting new staff, is not possible
Extra costs are too high, or restructuring is in progress
Customer demand cannot be met any other way.
The request would impact negatively on performance.
The request also cannot undermine any collective employment agreement in force at the workplace.
The law is expected to benefit mainly fathers whose caregiving roles are less acknowledged by employers than mothers.
In disputes the matter will be referred to a Labour Inspector first rather than the Courts. Employers are liable for compensation towards the employee of $2,000 in the case of non-compliance.
Law sponsor, Green MP Sue Kedgley, believes the law will change ‘work place culture’. The National Party was opposed to it on the grounds that employers already offer flexi-time voluntarily.
The Council of Trade Unions believes the law should be extended to all employees, not just those caring for dependants, partly to avoid discrimination by employers against parents.