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June 14, 2016 By John Adams Leave a Comment

Highlighting social isolation of young fathers #52DaysOfDad

A short while ago I made a video and blog post about social isolation and stay at home dads. I didn’t expect either to be particularly popular so I was very surprised when I got some great feedback on what I had done.

Young Dads Collective, Social isolation Family and Childcare Trust, dads, fathers,

The #52DaysOfDad campaign launched by the Young Dad’s Collective. A fun way to draw attention to the social isolation experienced by dads.


The unfortunate truth is that being a stay at home dad is isolating. Of course there are laws and guidelines that stop you from being blatantly discriminated against. Even so, every single day presents challenges of some sort.

Over the years I have had numerous issues with healthcare workers. Being told you are “babysitting” your child or questioning why the child’s mother isn’t with you at a medical appointment doesn’t make you feel great.

Not being part of a “mum network” also makes life a struggle at times. Most mums I know have numerous friends at the end of the phone they can call on if they need emergency childcare or help of some kind. Yes, I have mum friends and they are brilliant. I even have some dad friends. Even so, my network is much smaller.

Just take a look at the comments left at the end of this blog post. You’ll see a few mums admitting they have never even considered what it must be like being a stay at home dad.

I enjoy being a stay at home dad. I volunteered for this. I knew it was going to be rewarding but very tough.

Only thing is, I had the benefit of age. I was well into my thirties when I became a father and had travelled widely, working first as a journalist and in later years in PR and communications. Even if I say so myself, with age and experience comes a certain degree of confidence. I have often wondered how a much younger dad would cope with my situation.

Out of the blue, I was contacted the other day by the Young Dads Collective (YDC). These guys are a part of the Family and Childcare Trust, a charity that carries out research into family life and also provides information to Government and local authorities, not to mention working with families with children that have special needs. I could go on, suffice it to say, the Family and Childcare Trust does a lot.

Via the YDC programme, the Trust works with young fathers aged 25 and under. This group of men is understood to be one of the most isolated and economically deprived groups in the UK. The YDC programme works with these dads to reduce the levels of social isolation they experience and increase their skill set to help them gain employment.

To raise awareness of the YDC programme, a campaign has been launched called #52DaysOfDad. The greatest thing about the campaign is that it’s really good fun!

Once a week for the next 52 weeks, an activity will be published on the Family and Childcare Trust website. It will be a fun activity that dads can do with their kids.

The first activity was published earlier this week. It was a classic; building a den. I haven’t yet got around to doing this with my kids, but I may very well do so sometime over the next few days. As and when it happens, I will publish photos!

You can keep track of what other dads are doing by keeping an eye on the #52DaysOfDad hashtag. You can also view the @YoungDadsCo twitter feed and YoungDadsCollective Instagram account.

Are you tempted to take part in the #52DaysOfdad challenge? What do you think should be done to end isolation of both young and older dads? Please do leave a comment below.

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Filed Under: Family Life & parenting, Fatherhood, Stay at home dad / work at home dad Tagged With: #52DaysOfDad, blogging, child, children, dad blogger, daddies, daddy blogger, dads, development, education, equalities, families, family, Family and CHildcare Trust, family life, fatherhood, fathers, men, social isolation, stay at home dad, YDC, young dads, Young Dads Collective, young fathers

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About me

 

I’m John Adams and welcome to my award-winning blog. Since 2011 I’ve been the main carer for my two daughters and run the household while my wife has worked full-time. This blog tells our story. Follow this link to find out more about us.

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dadbloguk

Instagram post 2197164680346502651_1418399145 Well this came as a surprise! A local paper put my recent win at the @Vuelio #OIAwards19 on the front page (see my grid for more, it’s all there). The headline of the article was an absolute classic. I just had to share it.

Question is, should I get this printed on a t-shirt???
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#oiawards #oiawards2019 #onlineinfluenceawards #vuelio #vuelioawards #dadoftheyear #newspaper #newsstory #media #mediacoverage #influencer #socialmedia #socialmediainfluencer #influencermarketing #dadbloguk #blogger #dadblogger #ukdadbloggers #video #parenting #family #familytime #dads #dadstagram #igdads #dadtribe #newsheadlines #localnews #localnewspaper
Instagram post 2196515413898489126_1418399145 AD - Helen engrosses herself with a copy of kids’ news magazine @theweekjunior  There was a news story in this edition involving Harry Potter that she was particularly interested in.

As a former journalist, I have always encouraged my kids to show an interest in current affairs. I’m always amazed at the opinions they express and how considered their opinions are. 
If you are still looking for a Christmas gift for a child between the age of eight and fourteen, there’s a special Christmas subscription deal available for The Week Junior. 
Visit the blog and sign up (link in bio) and you will receive 19 issues for the price of 13. 
That aside, do you talk to your kids about current affairs? Do you think it’s a good thing or do you steer away from such discussions?
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#theweekjunior #TheWeek #newsmagazine #currentaffairs #newsmonkey #family #familytime #dadbloguk #parenting #Christmas2019 #Christmasgifts #magazinesubscription #magazinesubscriptions #familylife #parents #newspaper #newsforkids #currentaffairsforkids #pbloggers #blogger #influencer #newstory #worldview #education #educational #learning #Christmasgifts #Christmaspresents #HarryPotter
Instagram post 2194925799735718883_1418399145 Do you spend enough time in the great outdoors?

I’m very big on spending time outside. It’s health benefits are instantly apparent to me but over the past couple of months I’ve let myself down.

I’ve been active, using our gym equipment at home, but I’ve not been getting outside enough. Despite us having had several, glorious, sunny days, family life and work have conspired to keep me at home.

Not getting outside definitely impacts sleep quality and saps energy. I simply knew I wasn’t getting out enough.

Last week I rebelled. I took myself off on Friday to nearby woodland with my camera and did some photography. This is one of the pictures I took. It’s maybe not the best, but is was a lovely, crisp, winter’s day and I think you can see it in this landscape. 
I’ve written more about this aspect of self care on the blog (link in bio) so please have a read. Feel free to also add a comment below, with your own thoughts on spending time outside.
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#selfcare #greatoutdoors #health #care #lookafteryourself #family #familylife #worklifebalance #mentalhealth #sleep #familyhealth #dadbloguk #selfcaretips #selfcarematters #selfcareroutine #selfcarefirst #selfcareisntselfish #metime #photography #landscape #winter2019 #farmland #influencer #pbloggers #parenting #parents #timeout
Instagram post 2194240337224380194_1418399145 How amazing is this? A frozen spider’s when I spotted between a fence post and a tree. It just looks so haunting and I love the detail. It’s so amazingly intricate.

The spider was nowhere to be seen though. Hopefully it was keeping warm elsewhere!
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#spidersweb #web #frozen #cold #decembermorning #mysundayphoto #photography #fotografia #eyecatching #picsoftheday #canonpics #canonshots #blackandwhite #bw #bandw #spiders #dadbloguk #blogger #influencer #photoblogger #igpics #picsoftheday #monochrome #winter #winter2019 #cold #icycold #morningwalk #morninginspiration #outdoors #outside #nature
Instagram post 2193472480144169837_1418399145 If your child is a reluctant reader, don’t panic! It could be that they’re simply not into books. Try magazines, newspapers or websites instead. There’s a good chance that eventually you’ll find something that does inspire them to read.

Don’t take my word for it though, take it from @tompalmerauthor He has, after all, just received the Ruth Rendell Award, a prestigious award given to people who have gone out of their way to promote literacy. 
Tom has written many books for children and often visits schools to talk to the students about his career as a writer. Some of his books are focused on sport, some are focused on history or have a war-theme like Armistice Runner, the book I’m pictured with here. He has also published a range of books for children who struggle with reading to give them confidence.

There’s a full interview with Tom over on Dadbloguk. Link is in the profile.

If you have struggled to get one of your kids to read, how did you deal with it? We’ve had a small issue recently persuading Izzy to read her school books but the solution has been very simple. I take her to the library where she’ll sit and read for ages. She simply doesn’t like being told she’s doing homework so when she has the choice to chose what she reads, she does it.
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#TomPalmer #tompalmerauthor #literacytrust #nationalliteracytrust #nlt #ArmisticeRunner #RuthRendell #RuthRendellAward #reluctantreader #reading #readingwithchildren #readingforchildren #childrensauthor #childrensbooks #readingdifficulties #readingconfidence #education #schooling #dadblogukqa #dadbloguk #blogger #dadblogger #dadblog #parenting #family #familytime #schooling #reading #readingtime #readingisfundamental #inspiring #inspiration
Instagram post 2192787570987333777_1418399145 Does the hat suit me? 
After school yesterday, Helen, Izzy and I went to @hever_castle childhood home of Anne Boylen. There’s an ‘Alice in Christmas Wonderland’ walk and this is me, playing the Mad Hatter.

Expect a blog post in a few days time when I’ve edited the photographs. 
That’s the great thing about Hever Castle, even on a damp, dark December evening it is one of the most photogenic places on the planet!
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#HeverCastle #Hever #anneboylen #AliceinWonderland #Kent #VisitKent #daysout #daysoutwithekids #kentforchildren #kentforkids #kentforfamilies #dadbloguk #influencer #blogging #dadblog #familyblog #familyblogging #parenting #daysoutuk #madhatter #madhatterteaparty #teaparty #AliceinWonderland #lewiscarroll #kinghenryviii #historicalattractions #familyattractions
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