It’s been six years since NYC Dads Group began showing first-time and expectant fathers the ropes about bringing up baby through New Dad Boot Camps and, after helping hundreds of these men, the program is as strong as ever.
Dates for the three-hour workshops that teach baby-care basics and feature a frank conversation about issues like work-life balance, how to be a good partner and more have been announced for the start of 2018. More are certain to come as the demand for the program has been steady over the years.
“New Dad Boot Camps are always an amazing and invigorating reaffirming of the work we do to help make today’s fathers an active part of parenting in the modern world,” said NYC and City Dads Group co-founder Lance Somerfeld, who frequently facilitates the local workshops. “The best part is always seeing our ‘veteran’ fathers sharing their experiences and wisdom with a new group of men who are eager to be real participants in their children’s lives.”
If you are a man expecting your first child or know someone who is, New Dad Boot Camp is where you can learn the basics of being a helpful, active father.
New Dads Boot Camps feature not only fathers and fathers-to-be, but also actual babies. This allows the workshop participants to get true hands-on experience in the area of changing diapers, feeding, holding and soothing infants — all under the direction of a nationally certified trainer (an NYC Dads Group member).
“It’s the parenting class I wish I had before the birth of our first child,” Somerfeld said. “The birthing class that I participated in was a far cry from New Dads Bot Camp – we’d be in a cramped room with 40 other parents, being lectured to, and practicing on a doll.”
New Dads Boot Camp usually have between a half dozen to a dozen participants. In addition to practical child care skills, one of the main features of the events are a candid, judgment-free conversation on topics about dealing with in-laws and relatives, the martial changes and stresses brought on by the birth of a first child, and the fears of fatherhood.
The NYC Dad Boot Camps have received national media attention and rave reviews from participants over the years.
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