Update: June 20, 2010 See Fatherhood Friday resource expansion via an excellent tribute to Dads on Chris Singer’ blog.
Original post: Dads out there, what do you think it means to be a responsible father? Moms, what are YOUR expectations about dads’ role in raising children?
Kids, do a ‘shout out’ to dad on the air by calling in to Shaping Youth Advisory Board member Nurse Rona Renner’s Childhood Matters Father’s Day radio show on 98.1 KISS-FM this Sunday! 1-877-372-KIDS.
Childhood Matters offers rich, educational podcasts (feed & archive here) including this one from July 23rd, with Joe Kelly from Dads and Daughters. (reminder, we have his new book up for grabs if you have the most thought-provoking commentary on our query about media’s portrayal of dads!)
This Sunday, Rona’s guests are Bruce Collins, Chair of the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County (father of three children) and Ed Gold, (father of two sons) facilitator of a group for fathers of children with special needs, and chair of Berkeley’s Commission on Disability.
They’ll all be talking about roles and relationships of dads and their children, and since this is an ongoing dialogue far beyond the hoopla surrounding Father’s Day, dads can take the conversation online at DadTalk or other digital forums like Fatherville.
In honor of all the “new media” for men, Shaping Youth is posting a ‘resource round-up’ for Father’s Day, including books and sites like Mr.Dad, and Gregory Keer’s syndicated Family Man column, as well as great data hubs for research pros like European Fatherhood. First, here’s a recap of our query about media & men, so drop a comment to enter for Joe Kelly’s Togetherness Guide!
1.) Name your best AND worst pick for the portrayal of a ‘dad’ in ANY media, explaining ‘why.’ (role models can be fictitious or real; e.g. Bill Cosby the TV dad vs. Bill Cosby the real man)
2.) What’s your biggest pet peeve about the way men (and dads) are portrayed in media and marketing, and what’s your idea for the best way to go about changing it?
3.) What does it mean to be a ‘responsible, engaged’ father, partner, spouse (human being!) and how do media messages and changing times impact this role? (compare/contrast your relationship w/your own dad as a child)
Hopefully Childhood Matters will touch upon cultural depictions of men, avoiding stereotypes, and pressures and stresses of men on the radio show too, since there are all kinds of ‘new roles, new rules’ flinging around the media-sphere.
If not, I’ll certainly call in and lob that one into their on-air conversation!
Rona really does have an incredible amount of information packed into her hour long radio show, and she’s a pro at gleaning insightful commentary, up-to-date parenting tips and caller comments from listeners as well as experts…After all, as parents we all learn from each other’s life lessons too.
Online, or on the air, Childhood Matters is a great resource for tackling various issues shaping youth.
If you DO call in to 1-877-372-KIDS on Sunday at 9am PST, your kids will love being ‘heard’ on the radio, so be prepared for ‘insta-celeb’ dynamics.
In some ways, it’s a special gift in itself for Dad to cherish, since their wee little voices and emotions will be digitally archived on podcast for life…
Here are more great Fatherhood resources below, and some ‘link love’ for collaborative sites like The BlogFathers, Dad Bloggers and a few more hubs we hadn’t yet mentioned, like this fatherhood roundup here: Best of the Web Blogs and this ‘vote for a fave’ friend-fest here: “Blogger’s Choice” listings.
Check out the individual blogrolls of our first round of “Poppa Picks” below, and surf their style to find a good fit with humor, tonality, information and issues being tossed into the mix.
In some ways, I almost prefer these ‘dad’ conversations NOT be linked to this given weekend since it seems it plays into those fabricated media moments created for us by greeting card companies and commercialism instead of embracing genuine introspection about the triumphs and tribulations of father-child relationships.
But hey, when in Rome…
The beauty of the internet is knowing people can access these resources through search engines and archives forever…So, blog on!
Special thanks to the Fatherhood Collaborative of San Mateo County for getting me started with their web work to create this partial list below: (ping us if we’ve forgotten you, & we’ll take a peek!)
Shaping Youth Resource Roundup: Featuring Fatherhood
About Fatherhood: Tips for Dads
Administration for Children and Families
At Home Dads (Shaping Youth feature on this trend coming soon)
Center for Family Policy & Practice
Center for Law and Social Policy (Child support & low income fathers)
Dad Daily: Social networking site
DadStaysHome: forum style support
DI Dads (donor insemination)
Families and Work Institute: (Fatherhood Project)
Fathers Forum Online (expectant & newbie dads)
MaleCare.com (great prostate cancer support site for dads)
ManKind Project (progressive, “new warrior training adventure”)
MenStuff.org (misc. resource site)
Military OneSource (dad resources, childcare subsidies, mental health)
Minnesota Fathers & Families Network (incredibly family friendly state!)
Mr.Dad (author Armin Brott’s site, featuring his Positive Parenting radio show, his DaddyCast live podcasts, and book(s) like The Single Father, Father for Life, and age-tiered ‘how tos’ from what Time mag called a “superdad”) I found his Throwaway Dads book a bit feisty & adversarial; but he’s got quite a best-selling marketing machine
National Center on Fathers and Families (U.Penn edu site/policy-programs)
National Fatherhood Initiative (Fatherhood.org)
National Father’s Network (special needs)
Promoting Responsible Fatherhood (U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services)
Responsible Single Fathers (singlefather.org forum here)
Single Fathers’ Lighthouse (support & links to single parent resources)
StepDads (StepFamily Center)
StepInstitute (as seen in Newsweek here)
Support for Families of Children with Disabilities
Testicular Cancer Resource Site (support derivative from acor.org online) and of course Lance Armstrong’s LiveStrong.org site)
The Father Life (new ezine)
USO.org (AT&T Calling Cards for free USO/overseas calls for Father’s Day)
Zero to Three’s Fatherhood Tip Sheet
Books
· The Collected Wisdom of Fathers, by William Glennon, Red Wheel/Weiser, 2002.
· Dads and Daughters: How to Inspire, Understand, and Support Your Daughter When She’s Growing Up So Fast, by Joe Kelly, Broadway Books, 2003. (personal pick)
· The Dads & Daughters Togetherness Guide: 54 Fun Activities to Help Build a Great Relationship, by Joe Kelly, Broadway Books, 2007. (comment to win this!)
· Live-Away Dads: Staying a Part of Your Children’s Lives When They Aren’t a Part of Your Home, by William C. Klatte, Penguin, 1999.
· The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons From Falling Behind in School and Life, by Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens, Jossey-Bass, 2007.
· Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys, by Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., and Michael Thompson, Ph.D., Random House, 2000.
Dad Bloggers/Collaboratives & List Hubs:
Best of the Web Blogs (Fatherhood directory hub)
“Blogger’s Choice” listings (UGC peer lobbying)
The Blogfathers
And…Shaping Youth’s Poppa Picks
Part One A Few Faves:
African American Dad (see good post on stereotypes/tokenism today)
Creative Types
Cynical Dad
Dad Bloggers (collaborative site; various views)
DadCentric
Dad In Progress
Daddy in a Strange Land
Daddy Types
Dadventure
FreakedOutFathers
Laid Off Dad
MetroDad
Philosopher Dad
Rebel Dad
Rice Daddies
The BlogFathers (diverse, hilarious crew)
The Poop (The S.F. Chronicle Baby Blog; Mike Adamick et al; my local find)
More Fatherhood Resources/ Updates for 2010
Excellent resource roundup with full reviews of dad blogs
REVIEWS & Poppa Picks From “SAHD in Lansing” (aka TessasDad)
Chris Singer:
“2010 is the Year of the Dad Blog. In recognition of this, I have been posting a Dad Blog Review every week of the year. Below are the 20 blogs I’ve reviewed so far. Need confirmation that fatherhood and men are alive and well? Read any of the blogs I’ve reviewed below. Sorry magazine editors. We’re not going anywhere. Happy Father’s Day!”
Daddy’s Lil Squirt – A proud parent, husband, lite blogger, twitter enthusiast & dreamer Read review
Jack Be Nimble – A father writes about family, technology and more. Read review
Juggling Eric – A father of five juggling work, family and life. Read review
Luke, I Am Your Father – A diary of a new dad in Seattle. Read review
MochaDad – The musings of a harried Dad in his quest to raise three kids. Read review
Why Is Daddy Crying – Blotting tears since 2002. Read review
Dada Rocks – Who’s the bigger baby? Read review
PapaRocks6 – Father of 6 in PDX. Check out the Real Authentic Men posts. Read review
Natural Papa – Natural parenting from the perspective of a treehugging dirt worshiper. Read review
SAHD PDX – Fellow SAHD from the dad blogging paradise of Portland. Read review
Cute Monster -A SAHD blogger in NY. Cute Monster is a resource for dads. Read review
Mr. Storage’s Closet – A long-time blogger now adding posts about his life as a new father/SAHD in Canada. Read review
Ed at Home Dad – A stay-at-home dad’s journey through fatherhood. Read review
Daddy Geek Boy – He’s a dad. He’s a geek. He’s a perpetual adolescent who scribbles his thoughts here for your amusement. Read review
World of Weasels – A special review in honor of Mother’s Day. Read review
Goodbye, Pert Breasts: The Diary of a Newborn Dad – The first review of a dad blog from across the pond! Read review
Smonk You: A Story About Being a Dad – Nice blog by a doting dad. Lots of neat artistic features throughout! Read review
Bringing Up Charlie – A really well-written blog from a SAHD in England. Read review
Dad is in the House – A blog about the business of staying home. Read review
Almighty Dad – An excellent blog by a stay at home and homeschool dad Read review
MORE?! YOU STILL WANT MORE?!
CHECK OUT “FESTIVAL OF FATHERS” roundup of Dad’s Day greats for Father’s Day
AND REAL AUTHENTIC MEN, (Chris Goforth) writing a poignant piece capturing heartfelt thoughts from dads all over the blogosphere discussing the meaning of Father’s Day, fatherhood, and missing pieces with a bounty of wounds, words and wisdom. Fabulous gents one and all…
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