So you’re a new dad – congratulations! And welcome to fatherhood. Good to have you in the club – strap in and get ready for the best ride of your life.
We know you are probably feeling a mixture of emotions at the moment – excited and grateful for your new baby and your family and an overwhelming sense of pride coupled with an equally overwhelming tiredness and adjustment to your new life. Being a new dad can be really tough. Your relationship with your partner changes, you suddenly have zero free time and your most probably knackered 24/7! It sounds really cliche to say but it does get easier, once you get through the first 18 months and find some routine (and sleep) you’ll soon feel back to yourself again.
To help you through the first stages of fatherhood, we host monthly peer support sessions for new dads. The sessions are an informal get together, on zoom. They are super chilled and a chance to meet and talk to other new and like minded dads.
By the way, we won’t be covering any of the practical parenting stuff, like how to feed and burp – this is all about YOU, as a man and as a dad. We know that the dad often plays second fiddle in early parenting but you’ve been through a life changing experience too and you need to have some time to reflect on how you are coping.
The aim of the session is to meet other new dads, hear how other people are managing it all, share some of your experiences and have a laugh while doing it!
We’ll be covering topics such as
- identity and finding time for you
- managing mental health and wellbeing
- finding a good work life balance
- communicating in relationships
The sessions are a safe space so we ask all attendees to treat eachother with respect, empathy and confidentiality. Our facilitators are experienced and trained and we have safeguarding procedures in place. All this helps to ensure the sessions are productive and enjoyable for everyone.
The peer sessions are monthly (on the last Thursday of the month) and last for 90mins. We allow a maximum of 20 dads at each session to make sure we can hold a safe space for everyone.
