The DadTalk blog features insights from dads and Responsible Fatherhood practitioners from around the country. Its goal is to start conversations about important issues surrounding fatherhood and programs for fathers today.
Fathers who live apart from their children often come to fatherhood programs with deep feelings of frustration, shame, and hopelessness. Many have found themselves becoming the absent dad they swore they would never be. Many of the men who…
Empathy is at the heart of what it means to be human.
Harvard University’s Making Caring Common project provides a clear understanding of empathy. Understanding the importance of empathy is key in preventing bullying and for developing healthy and positive relationships. Building skills to support empathetic behavior is incredibly important in helping children become successful adults.
Empathy is not only the ability to understand another perspective but also to…
In December, families often take time to come together and celebrate the holidays. Whether you are taking part in traditions that have been in your family for generations or creating new ones with your own kids, the holiday season is a perfect time to reinforce the values of charity and generosity. It’s easy for kids to become wrapped up in getting presents, but during the holidays, you can show them that spending time giving back to others can be just as fun and much more rewarding!
Depending on the age of your kids, you may want to talk to them about what it means to give back to…
Ed. Note: This post first appeared on the CASA FamilyDay blog. Read the original post here.
Learn more tips on how fathers can share stories about their family history with their children to help them to value both their heritage and who they are as individuals. With our NRFC Spotlight on Dads Forever Family: Ancestors Who Shaped Our Lives, available in…
Ed note: This post originally appeared in the ACF Family Room Blog. View the original post here.
As the days and nights start to get colder, there are steps you and your family can take to ensure a safer winter.
Keep Temperatures Consistent
Home energy studies show that keeping homes a constant temperature of at least 68 degrees can prevent health and safety-related crises, such as asthma or hypothermia, that may result in hospital visits. It’s also more…
August 2016 celebrated the 21st anniversary of National Child Support Awareness Month. On August 5, 1995, President William J. Clinton signed Proclamation 6814 highlighting the importance of providing for our children as the “sum of our past and the promise of our future,” and acknowledging the role of all child support programs to ensuring children receive the necessary financial support to “lead secure and healthy lives.”
Today, state and local child support offices are scheduling special events to focus…
The Thanksgiving holiday is the perfect time to reflect on what we have to be thankful for in our lives, spend quality time with family, take a break from work and school, and of course, eat some pie! Whether you travel to visit others or stay at home this year, here are some ideas for getting the most out of this Thanksgiving holiday with your kids.
Volunteer together. Thanksgiving is a great opportunity to give back to the community and help those who may be less fortunate. Volunteer experiences also help give kids perspective on just how much they have to be thankful for every day…November is a great month. For sports fans, baseball, football, hockey, and basketball are all active at the same time (if only for a few days of baseball). For lovers of the outdoors, cool weather and changing leaves in many parts of the country are a great opportunity to take a walk or hike as a family. At the end of the month many families will come together to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday.
November is also a month where we have an opportunity to focus on men’s health issues with efforts like No-Shave November and Movember. It’s also open enrollment season for health…
Ed note: This post originally appeared in the ACF Family Room Blog. View the original post here.
Domestic violence is a national public health challenge that crosses racial, cultural, and geographic boundaries. On average, 20 people per minute are victims of physical violence by an intimate partner in the United States — that’s about twelve million people each year.
We know the numbers of those experiencing such violence are far too high. We know that children and youth who witness domestic…
For many responsible fatherhood programs, workforce development and financial empowerment are seen as key components. For many workforce development programs, however, responsible fatherhood and parenting skill building is not as often seen as a critical program piece. To help bridge this divide, the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse (NRFC) and the Center for Urban Families (CFUF) held two listening sessions. The first with fathers engaged in responsible fatherhood and workforce development programs, and the second with representatives from…
Nearly 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men have suffered from domestic violence at the hands of an intimate partner.1 Although some of us may have heard this shocking statistic before, it still bears repeating. Domestic violence is an issue of national importance, and it falls on each of us to make a promise to ensure that every victim of domestic violence knows they have a supportive community to which they can turn. It is in light of this need for action that the White House declared October to be National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Government agencies including the Department of Justice…