| Role Of New Fathers Promoted In Fathers Direct Maternity Guide
A unique guide launched today by Fathers Direct, backed by Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt, sets out the way maternity services should engage with fathers, to benefit children, mums and fathers themselves.
Including New Fathers offers a wealth of policy guidance and practical advice on how to include fathers effectively in maternity services. It reflects the changing nature of families: today, 88 per cent of fathers attend their child's birth, a figure that has risen significantly in the last 40 years and fathers now provide one third of parental care of children - eight times more than 30 years ago and more care than professional childcarers. [1].
The guide reflects first hand experiences of midwives and other professionals who work with fathers and includes many of their hints and tips.
He vows not to repeat dad's mistake
When George Johnson Sr. visits his children's school for career day, he asks the kids how many live with their fathers. Only a few hands go up. Probing further, he finds out that many girls look forward to becoming mothers, but typically few expect to get married. "My mother told me these men aren't no good," one girl told him. That's when Johnson explains earnestly that his job is to combat the mindset that fathers are optional. He works for Eagle Wings, a drug and alcohol intervention and prevention program aimed at fathers. Johnson, a 52-year-old single dad, strives to exemplify what he preaches. He remembers the awkwardness after his divorce, when he got custody of his two youngest children in 1999. He soon learned son George didn't like beans or eggs and had to come up with some passable meals "so we could eat as a family." He taught himself to do Shamyra's hair, curling three braids on top of her head into his favorite style which he calls "the flower." "While you're raising a child, you're not only a teacher, you're also a student," he reflected.
The downside of paradise
Actually, I don't believe that any place is heaven on earth -- though I've been to my fair share of purgatories, or worse -- but some readers are disappointed that I don't always highlight the lowlights of Hawaii. What about the sluggish traffic on Kauai's Coconut Coast or in Kailua-Kona on the Big Island, they ask. What about the helicopters that crash during sightseeing tours? And, did I know that many Hawaii residents oppose the coming interisland ferry service? Two answers: Either I already addressed these concerns in other venues in The Chronicle, or the complaints weren't germane to the issue at hand. But, for the record, I heartily approve of visitors being aware that they're going to a real place, with real people in real situations, and not a manufactured Disneyland safely engineered for your pleasure.
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