Dads Teaming Up to Make a Difference in the Lives of Their Children

Photo of New York City Dads Meetup Group

All across the country, dads are joining together to seek guidance and learn from each other, all with the goal of becoming better fathers.  It’s such a wonderful thing to see!  One group that has made impressive strides is 4 Your Child, a project of the University of Kentucky’s School of Social Work.  Since the program started in 2015, it has helped 900 dads to become better fathers.

Professor Armon Perry and his team are the power houses behind the project.  According to the project summary on the website, research “has concluded that factors such as fathers’ parenting skills, co-parenting relationship quality, and socio-economic status all impact fathers’ ability to contribute to their children’s growth and development.”  The project aims at providing non-custodial fathers with “a comprehensive, solution-oriented program featuring group-based parent education and individualized case management to help them achieve financial independence, increase their parenting skills, and develop a co-parenting alliance.” 

According to a recent article in usnews.com about the project, dads receive parenting-related classes over a period of 28 weeks through workshops that help them develop better skills in communication and conflict resolution.  After completing these classes, the men are eligible for 6 months of further assistance from various professionals.  The goal is to develop men who will be not only good financial providers for their children, but also have better relationships with both their children and the women who are the mothers of their children.

This program is very impressive and should be a model for others throughout the country.  It is funded by a federal grant and similar programs in other states should be able to be funded the same way. 

To learn more about 4 Your Child, CLICK HERE.

As Christian Parents, Should We Allow Our Children To Go On Sleepovers?

As a mother of two boys, I know all about sleepovers.  You have a house full of kids, who don’t want to sleep and who eat continuously through the day and night.  Sleepovers are fun times for children. But, be cautioned.  You need to protect your children from other children and even their parents who may have a bad influence on them as well as anyone else who may be in the home when your children are there for the sleepover.

I did not welcome invitations from parents whom I didn’t know. Random sleepovers were not permitted.  If I knew the parents and children, I would inquire as to what types of activities were planned; who would be supervising the children; what would they be eating and drinking; and what types of games were they going to play.

    Even after so much scrutiny and diligence though, something slipped by.  I remember picking up my oldest son from a sleepover late one morning.  He was about 10 years old at the time.  As I arrived at the house, I walked in the front door to the living room.  I then observed my son playing a video game with another boy.  As I looked closely, to my shock and dismay, the video game involved hitting and kicking women all over their bodies (including their heads, stomachs, and private parts) in fight scenes.  This was a family who attended church regularly, but the parents were not monitoring the types of video games in their house.  On the drive home, I explained to my son about the problem with that video game and that men should not hit women.  During the following week at church, I even spoke with the parents about the game.    When I observed their nonchalant attitude, I knew my son was not going to spend time there again.