If you’d have told me 3 years ago that I’d be writing a blog piece about how HRH Kate Middleton joined Dadvengers for a Dad Walk to raise awareness for what we do, I’d probably have told you to pull the other one. But on Wednesday 1st November 2023 Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales arrived at the Arnos Arms pub to do just that.
As with any royal visit there were protocols regarding what we could do. On this occasion our dads were not allowed to know who was in attendance. They knew that there was a special guest but had no idea who that guest might be. It’s fair to say that most were suitably blown away when they found out.
How did it go?
The amount of press, photographers, security and just people in general for a royal visit is quite something. Even for this, an unpublicised low key visit it was incredible seeing all planning and organisation come together.
The weather did it’s best to stop us getting outside! But the Princess put everyone at ease! And we waited out a rain shower before joining us for our usual walk through Arnos Park. She made a point of talking to all the dads and their kids, asking personal questions and showing a genuine interest in their experiences.
What is Shaping Us?
Earlier this year The Princess and The Centre for Early Childhood launched their ‘Shaping Us‘ campaign. It’s goal is to improve outcomes for children, focusing on the first 5 years of a child’s life. “What shapes us Makes Us”. Since it’s launch The Princess has visited a number of organisations who’s visions and missions align with the Shaping Us initiative. The focus being to raise awareness and converse about different approaches, with a view to helping each other.
The Princess made a point of speaking to lots of our dads about their experiences and views. Fathers are a marginalised demographic when it comes to the early years. Both Dadvengers and Shaping Us are doing their bit to change this. Conversations between The Princess and attendees ranged from paternity leave, to the lack of male parenting spaces, to men’s mental health. And it was really good to hear her thoughts on how important a fathers role is in the early years of a child’s life and how important it is for organisations like ours to be seen and heard.
Another special guest
Also in attendance at this engagement was Shaping Us Champion, DJ, and songwriter Jax Jones. He prasied the event saying “To come down here with the Dadvengers is really cool. These really important messages about early childhood experiences need to be communicated. I’ve been on my own journey to find tools to help me be prepared to be the best dad I can be. I have a certain intimacy with my kids that I’ve seem blossom beautifully. Having a community where there are other parents doing the same thing gives you that energy. My daughter is here somewhere in the sandpit I think. The team are doing a great job, I’ve had a lot of fun.”
Onwards and upwards
It was really great finding out about the shared vision that both Shaping Us and Dadvengers have surrounding the early years and its parenting challenges. Hopefully sure this won’t be our last collaboration with them.
If you would like to join the Dadvengers on one of there Dad Walks details can be found on the Dad Groups page.