Dad Chats Live - 25 September 2020, Baby changing facilities for men.
Despite it being 2020, and there many a huge amount of hands on fathers in the UK, there is still al lack of baby changing facilities for men. Many places only have baby changing in the ladies bathrooms - this isn't ok! How are dads meant to be encouraged to be hands on if they can't comfortably change their babies when out in public? So this week, we asked your experiences of baby changing in public. We wanted to hear about the fails, the funny times, and the frustration this causes us dads. We also asked for your suggestion of what can be done to make this better for us all.
Following the great chat about curling parents, this week we delved into another parenting style... tiger parents. If you've never heard of it, tiger parents use an authoritarian approach to push their child toward academic excellence or success in high-status extra curricular activities. These parents are often very pushy, and extremely strict. So we asked for your thoughts on this parenting style.
For our light-hearted topic we wanted to hear about the times you've laughed at your children, when you shouldn't have! We've all been there... our kids do something that we really shouldn't find funny, but we can't help but laugh anyway. Our community shared their hilarious stories. If you're in need of a laugh, this is the dad chat for you!
Topics We Covered:
1. Tiger Parents.
2. Baby Changing Facilities for Men.
3. Times that you have laughed at your children when you shouldn't have.
Dad Chats Live - 18 September 2020: talking about approaching grief with children, crying in front of your kids and your dream man cave?!
Grief is something that will impact all of our lives, and no matter how much we want to protect our children from that, it will impact them to. So this week we chatted about approaching grief with children. We talked about the impact of grief on our kids, how we talk to them about it and we got some great advice about this subject. From how we talk to our kids about grief, to helping them navigate the difficult emotions it brings up. A must watch.
Next up, we talked about crying in front of our kids. Years ago, men would avoid crying in public as it was believed to be a sign of weakness. That opinion has changed dramatically over the last 20-30 years, but would you cry in front of your children? This is something that some dads still wouldn't feel comfortable doing. So, we asked if you have cried in front of your children, how they reacted, and why we think it is an important thing to do.
Last up, for our light-hearted topic, we asked what our community would have in their dream man cave - and we got some great ideas!
Topics we covered:
1. Dealing with Grief. No matter whether it's a pet, a friend, or a grandparent it is tough for everyone involved. Let's open the topic right up. Tell us all your thoughts and feelings.
2. Crying in front of your kids.
3. Our light hearted topic this week is... What would you have in your dream man cave?
Did you enjoy this topic? Find more great Dad Chats Live here.
Dad Chats Live - 28 August 2020, back to school and nursery.
It is that time of year again, the back to school dread it kicking in! Maybe your kids are going into a new school year, or starting school or nursery for the first time? Whatever the situation you're in, we all know that this can be a stressful time for kids and parents alike. So, we threw open the conversation to find out what is worrying you the most about the school and nursery return. In talking about this, we got some great advice on how to deal with the worries we have.
Next up we delved back into our own school years. We asked about the help and support you got from your parents when you were at school. Did they give as much support as you do to your kids? do you remember doing homework together? Or
For our light-hearted topic we talked about those moments when we realise we are turning into our parents! Have you said something, or done something, that made you stop and think "I am turning into my mum / dad"?
1. Going back to school or nursey or starting for the first time. We've touched on this briefly but next week a lot of children will be attempting to go back to school or nursery. There are lots of angles to this including how the kids are feeling. We want to hear it all.
2. Did our parents help us with school to the extent that we do now? Can you remember your parents helping you finish your homework or colour the front cover of project?
3. Have we noticed taking on our parent's mannerisms or tone as a parent? Have you caught yourself saying something and thought my mum or dad would have done exactly that?
If you're worried about the transition to school or nursery, Nigel has written a great blog packed full with advice on Being Supportive During The Transition To School or Nursery. The piece has advice for the nervous dads, the organised dads, loving dads, thoughtful dads and nervous dads. We think we'll have you all covered in there!
Dadvengers - Being supportive during the transition to school or Nursery
If you're worried about the transition to school or nursery, Nigel has written a great blog packed full with advice on Being Supportive During The Transition To School or Nursery. The piece has advice for the nervous dads, the organised dads, loving dads, thoughtful dads and nervous dads. We think we'll have
Did you enjoy this weeks chat - do you have a topic you'd like us to cover? Get in touch and let us know!
Subjects: 1. Communicating with children about their feelings. How? Why? When? We were pleased to welcome Leslie-Ann from @owltherapy who is a Family Support consultant and Autism specialist who gave us an overview on the topic as well as answer questions from the Dadvengers community.
2. Communicating with others about our feelings as parents. This one is an obvious choice after topic one. It will be good to see if there is any correlation or relationship between both.
3. Our lighthearted topic for this session was, Favourite Dad jobs and why? What are the jobs you love to do? We know there are some Jet Wash fans, Pool cleaning fans and BBQ fans out there. We want to hear about your faves and the reasons why.
As with all our special guests Leslie-Ann wrote a blog piece to accompany this live. The piece covers
If you'd like to read the full article please click on the link. Or you can watch the Dad Chats Session with Leslie-Ann Beary below.
Subjects: 8 August 2020 Talking about:- Being a blind parent.
Another Friday, another brilliant Dad Chats! This week we talked about being a disabled parent. Whether it is a physical, or mental disability, it is something that may make the parenting journey more difficult. So we asked to hear all about it. We are joined by some brilliant Dadvengers who were really open about their experiences of being a disabled parent - definitely one to watch.
Next we chatted parenting plans. A lot of parents think they will manage the different stages of child development in set ways. They have a plan, and they want to stick to it! We asked, what those plans are, and whether or not they have been working out so far.
For our light-hearted topic, we asked what your favourite dad songs are. Our crew brought the TUNES on this topic! One not to miss!
1. Added difficulties of parenting when you have a disability or condition. Maybe you are autistic, maybe you have OCD, maybe you have a physical disability. However mild or strong we want to hear about them and the methods you use to support and cope with them.
2. Parenting Plans. Many of us like to think we will parent in a certain way through each stage of our children's developement. Do you have a plan? Did you have one? Is it going to plan? Are you ready for the teenage years? You get the idea
3. What are your favourite dad songs. This will be very interesting.
If you want to hear more about being a blind parent, you need to check out this episode of the Dadvengers Podcast with Dr Amit Patel. Dr Amit is a disability rights activist, doctor, author and father of two young children, Dr Amit had to learn to parent with a disability after losing his sight before his children were born. He tells us the serious, and funny sides of parenting with a disability, and we definitely recommend listening in.
Use the player above to listen to Dadvengers Podcast Episode 10
Enjoyed this dad chats? Got a topic you'd like us to cover? We love hearing from you - let us know what we should talk about here!
26 June 2020 - Preparing for the birth of your child.
This week we chatted all things preparation - from the must buys, to the mental preparation. We all know that having a child changes your life - and we wanted to hear how you all prepared for the birth of a child. From the simple steps we can take, to the things most people forget, we wanted to hear it all! And you didn't let us down. We loved covering this topic - and think you will love listening to it!
Next up we talked about partner conflict. We all have moments when we as parents haven't been aligned with our partners on discipline, or how we bring up our children. So how do we get past this and get on the same page for the sake of our kids? We heard your experiences and advice on this important subject.
Lastly we asked you what the cutest thing one of your kids has done for you. Our kids can be extra cute sometimes, and they can do little, or big, things that bring tears of joy to our eyes. So we asked, what is that moment for you - what made you think "You are the best!!"
Being a brand new dad can be daunting - but, we have some great resources that might help!
From blog posts on Dads and Baby Groups, Why Go To Baby Groups, and Baby Club Book - Play and Learn with Your Baby. To Dad Chats about Baby Changing Facilities for Men, Parents and Tiredness, and the dreaded Parent Guilt. If those aren't what you're looking for, you can use the search feature to find whatever you're looking for!
Did you enjoy this Dad Chats? We love hearing your thoughts, get in touch and let us know!
What a week it has been! Everywhere you look, read or listen people are reacting to the horrific murder of George Floyd. Something that has brought a cause right to the front of people's minds. That cause is of course the Black Lives Matter cause (not the organisation). We did have some other topics lined up but this is way too big to be ignored and it's something we need to think about as fathers and parents, why black lives matter? Our 3 topics were:
1. As father or parent how can we help the black lives matter cause? We know many people want to help but they literally don't know how, or what to do, or what to say.
2. How do we educate our children about racism. Whether you are white or black its something we all need to do. But how do we do it? How do we broach the subject?
3. We normally go light hearted here but we didn't feel it was appropriate so instead we asked for your must see Films and TV show to educate on racism.
If you enjoy this chat and want more resources on the subject make sure you check out our blog post on How to talk to children about #blacklivesmatter . It's a piece that was directly inspired from the murder of George Floyd, and is a good resource for those wanting to educate themselves on issues of race before beginning with their kids.
Dad Chats Live - Dads Talk Discipline.
Dad Chats Live is here! On Friday 8th May 2020 Nigel spoke to two dads about their approach to discipline, and we loved hearing from them!
There are times we all need to put on the serious parenting hat and discipline our kids. It isn't always easy, and sometimes, dads talking discipline can be difficult. So we delved into the topic to find out how some of our community discipline their kids. Hearing different dads talk discipline was really interesting. And no matter the approach we all agreed that it's important to give our kids space to think about what happened and to process it.
We also touched on blended families and how this can complicate discipline across different households - and how to overcome it!
Dads talking discipline was a great Dad Chats Live,
Is there something you'd like to talk about on Dad Chats? Get in touch and suggest a topic - we'd love to hear from you!
We also agree that an important part of discipline is talking to our children - a lot of unwanted behaviour can come from a child being unable to express their emotions. We have a great post called "Helpful Advice On Communicating With Children About Their Feelings". In that post, there is great advice on:
And it includes some resources to help. It is definitely worth checking out.
