Established in 2009, the group works on providing advice and support for individuals and men's groups on issues of health, family and community.Yesterday I was fortunate enough to be in attendance at their Stormont event entitled 'Celebrating the Father Role' an insightful collection of talks that addressed the personal, psychological and cultural impact of the role of fathers and father figures in the lives of children and their impact on the community as a whole. Without sounding too much like a patronising douche bag, it was really nice to see so many fathers present and itching to get up and talk about the most important people in their lives.
The event also saw the launch of the Staying Connected Programme from Parent's Advice Centre, designed to encourage non resident father's to maintain important contact with sons. This comes about in the midst of June's Focus on Fathers drive from the Parents Advice Helpline, who state:
"Fathers have a crucial influence on their child’s development. Research shows that strong relationships between fathers and children are associated with higher levels of happiness and excellent health and when fathers are positively involved with their children before the age of 11, the children are more likely to escape a criminal record by the age of 21."
Means and methods of celebrating Father's Day were discussed, and from an eco friendly angle, I have to admit that nothing says I love you dad, I love the planet and we're pretty skint, like a home made recycled card. So hoke out the PVA glue, dried pasta, old newspaper and fabric, and sacrifice a clean house for a few hours to ensure that the dad in your or your child's life, gets a piece of emotional tat.
ah yes, the macaroni card, can't beat it.
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