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Aberdeen dads learning to be better parents thanks to innovative Granite City project

Where: Ashgrove Children’s Centre, Gillespie Place, Aberdeen, AB25 3BE

When: 1pm, Tuesday 7 February 2012

A support group dedicated to dads in Aberdeen is breaking down barriers to offer help, advice and education for fathers as they bid to become better parents.

Dads Work was established in Aberdeen several years ago and continues to go from strength to strength providing a safe, supportive and non-judgmental environment for fathers in the city.

The group is comprised of dads who have been referred to the group because they either have sole or shared custody of their children and because of previous life experiences which may have impacted on their ability to parent.

As well as wishing to help fathers become better parents the group was created in a bid to beat the stigma attached to agencies engaging with men in a workshop environment.

Aberdeen City Council’s social care and wellbeing team lead the project with support from other partner agencies. The group meets three times a week with a variety of mediums all designed to provide practical learning experiences as well as emotional and social support.

Aberdeen City Council senior support worker Ron Bird is the leader of the group with each of the week’s sessions boasting a different focus.

The dads take part in a discussion group, which focuses on current issues and experiences while a second meeting takes the form of a sports activity with the dads currently enjoying weekly badminton sessions. The final session takes the form of a cooking class where the dads learn to prepare and cook healthy meals using recipes. During the meetings a crèche is provided to care for the dads’ children.

Ron explained: “Dads Work is really all about giving dads an opportunity to engage with other dads.

“The group doesn’t have any airs or graces and really support one another. Regardless of what the situation the dads are in, whether they have newborn babies or teenagers they can share their experiences, skills and knowledge of parenting as a mutual support group.

“We try to build confidence, develop parenting skills, enhance the quality of care dads offer their children, and help the dads attending into education or employment if that is what is required.”

The programme’s focus on building confidence and transferable skills has empowered many of the group’s participants over the years with many of the dads successfully going through the Dads Work scheme looking to establish their own groups across the city.

Ron added: “We provide a safe and supportive environment for the dads to explore their concerns and worries about being fathers. The strength of Dads Work is that it provides a support network for a group of guys who would otherwise feel left out of mainstream groups.”

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