Creating a dad-friendly environment
You may need to stand back and take a dispassionate look at whether your service makes it clear to all service users that dads are welcome and valued in your setting.
Ask your dads, partners and other local men to help you decide what changes could be made to make your setting more inclusive. For example:-
- Are there positive images of dads and children on display and do they reflect the diversity of the population and of male carers?
- Do you make a positive effort to talk to dads, get to know their names and their children’s names, acknowledge the importance of their role and make sure they know about and feel welcome to attend the services you offer?
- Is your publicity directed at mums and dads, rather than parents, and does it show images of both?
- Does your notice board include information that would be of interest to dads and let them know about services, groups and courses that they may wish to attend?
- Do you collect registration information that identifies all the people who are significant in providing care for the children?
- Do dads know where the toilets and nappy changing facilities are?
- Do you think of ways to engage dads who find it hard to attend on weekdays?
- Would dads be able to see adult and children's reading materials and toys or activities that are likely to reflect their role or interests?
- Do you have any male members of staff or volunteers?
- Do you run events aimed at mums and dads and children?
- Do you encourage partners and existing dadswho use the service to invite other dads?
- Have you identified the barriers to becoming involved that exist for all dads but particularly those who may be marginalized, for example, because they are disabled, where English is their second language or because they are young dads?
Using hooks to engage dads
Many of the colleagues interviewed pointed to the value of using hooks to attract dads. The most popular and successful ones were:
Sport
When the Warrington Library Service became involved with the BBC RAW campaign, the Real Men Read and the Vital Link project, funding was provided for the promotion of five minute dads. This initiative promotes the idea that it only takes five minutes to share a story, but these 5 minutes can makea world of difference to both parent and child. As a result the extra funding that was made available a pilot project was set up at the Beeches Children’s Centre. The group proved so popular with the attendees that it was decided to continue when the pilot period came to an end.
This work built on an existing relationship with the Warrington Wolves Rugby League Football Club (the Wolves). Rugby League is very popular with local families and the Wolves have won awards for their strong record in becoming involved with community activities. The aim was to attract dads based on the Premier League Reading Scheme where each team has a player who becomes a reading champion.
The involvement of the Wolves has been a big attraction to dads and children both in terms of encouraging them to attend sessions and promoting dads reading with their children at home. There are huge ‘Real Men Read’ posters at the ground which advertise sessions at the library and there are also similar adverts in the match programmes. Posters are also displayed in the town, for example in the markets and the library advertises events through their own publicity and with the support of partners. However the single most effective means of attracting dads has been through word of mouth and personal contact with someone involved in the sessions, or through the mums that attend the centre.
Celebrities are invited to the group each month. These have included contacts from the rugby club who have been very supportive, a fireman, a policeman and Mr Universe.The celebrities usually choose a book they like and are familiar with and a song or rhyme is added. The celebrities are invariably very enthusiastic and talk about reading to their own children at home. Family learning tutors attend the sessions and model ways of using books and rhymes with the dads and gradually the dads become more confident at engaging with the sessions and need no help. It is hoped that the involvement of the family learning tutors will lead to family learning courses being developed.
Food
Many of the groups found that providing food was an attraction to dads and also helped promote healthy eating. Some provided breakfast, others a buffet lunch and others a tea time snack. The provision of food was found to provide a social focus to the group and created a relaxed atmosphere which helped the dads and children get to know each other better and helped the group become more cohesive.
One-off events
Bookstart colleagues' involvement in special events for children and their parents can be a way of targeting dads. Some libraries have run Father's Day events with indoor and outdoor activities and one offered free video hire to all the dads who attended. Many Bookstart colleagues play an active role in family fun days or local shows setting up stalls and running Rhymetime or Storytime sessions in the under 5s areas. Some Bookstart colleagues have become involved in family visiting days at local prisons setting up a library area and leading Storytime and Rhymetime sessions throughout the day. One Bookstart coordinator periodically sets up a Bookstart stall in a local market town and actively targets dads who are shopping with their families.
Publicity materials
We have seen that word of mouth is considered to be the most successful way to attract dads – as one commentator said 'relationships are better than posters!'
None the less a wide range of publicity materials are used to attract dads and many Bookstart colleagues thought that most people need to see or hear the same message three times before it began to register as something they are likely to think about more. Equally, many colleagues thought that increasing the visibility of positive images of dads and their children and the numbers of men involved in activities with their children plays an important part in mainstreaming dads' involvement and encouraging more men to become involved. The case studies show examples of features on local TV and radio, newsletters, library websites, posters and leaflets.
Real men read - video
See some examples
- Pickles Coppice - Daddy Cool Newsletter (Word doc, 5Mb)
- Sheffield Babies Love Books Newsletter
- Cornwall Five a side Leaflet
- Belfast Leaflet