Making fathers of young dads

"There is a false view that young dads are hard to reach," says Jenny Midwinter, coordinator with Leeds Sexual Health Initiatives, quoted in this article in The Guardian. The article is on a scheme in Leeds to help young fathers engage with their children and look after them. "Other services fail to engage young fathers when they attempt to bolt something for them on to existing provision for teenage mums," she says. "Young men won't attend a 'parents' group when it is clearly focused on mothers. The sad thing is that their non-involvement with such services can bolster the stereotype of them not wanting to play any part in their children's lives."

The scheme is called Fact (Fathers and Children Together) and John May, Fact's specialist learning mentor for teenage fatherhood, says: "Most of what we provide has been asked for by the lads themselves." The sessions include workshops on everything from car safety to baby food preparation, provided by outside experts or Fact's attached pair of nursery nurses, says the Guardian article. Then there are trips with their babies to the library; picnics in the park and a visit to see Santa. "Anyone can go to buy a pack of nappies," says May, "but our lads want to be competent dads. The skills they acquire are far more likely to benefit their relationship with their children and, in turn, with the mums, even if they are no longer together as couples. And all at absolutely minimum cost.".....