Breastfeeding & Shared Parental Leave - 5 things you need to know
Is breastfeeding still a realistic option if mum goes back to work leaving dad in charge? SARAH EDWARDS of the Breastfeeding Network offers expert advice for parents deciding how to split parental leave.
Shared leave brings many advantages and it is great for both mums and dads to spend time getting to know their baby during the first year. Of course, it can also bring challenges and how to balance breastfeeding and shared parental leave can be one of them - especially if you want to continue breastfeeding once mum goes back to work and takes the vital equipment with her!
Here are five things we think it might be helpful for parents to know when they are talking about shared parental leave and breastfeeding...
Read moreYear of the Dad
Sign up here to join Year of the Dad, as NICK THORPE captures the spirit of the 2016 celebration of fatherhood with help from forward-thinking parents and employers.
WANT to know what Year of the Dad is all about? Look no further than John and Nikki Duncan, examplars of the kind of culture change we want to celebrate.
Read moreJoin our Board!
Do you want to help build a father friendly world?
Fathers Network Scotland (FNS) is seeking new Board Directors to join our passionate team as we take this dynamic organisation to the next stage of its development.
Click here for printable pdf version.
Read moreSeize the Daddy
It’s not perfect legislation, but men now have the chance to take Shared Parental Leave and spend quality time with their children. GIDEON BURROWS challenges dads to embrace the opportunity, and change culture for good.
Back in 2012, when Shared Parental Leave legislation was just about still twinkle in Nick Clegg’s eye, I wrote a book called Men Can Do It.
Read moreLosing Mum
Exactly a year ago today at 3.15pm, I was on the Ferry to Larne, going home to visit my sick mother, when I received a call to say that she had passed away.
How to tell the children, who looked at me knowing the news was not good?
Read moreBest for Dads Award
Direct from today’s prestigious award ceremony, we are proud to announce the inaugural Fathers Network Scotland prize for the most father-friendly employer in Scotland.
IT’S official: West Dunbartonshire Council is Scotland’s best employer for all stages of fatherhood!
The public sector employer fought off stiff competition to receive the coveted title from Fathers Network Scotland at this afternoon’s inaugural Scottish Top Employers for Working Families Awards, attended by Fiona McLeod MSP, acting Minister for Children and Young People.
Read moreThe Lost Son
Birth parents never forget the children they have lost to adoption. ROB BROWN tells the moving story of his search for the son he thought he’d never meet.
I was 18 when I fathered my first child. When my girlfriend first told me that she was pregnant, I felt very happy about becoming a father.
Read morePlaying for Keeps
Playing with our kids is not only fun, but crucial for strong families. NICK THORPE hears how one pioneering organisation has engaged dads as well as mums in building strong bonds with their children.
“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation,” the philosopher Plato once said. And when that person is your child, the benefits can transform your whole family.
Read moreYour Brain on Porn
NICK THORPE examines emerging evidence of the havoc internet pornography can wreak in our brains, our relationships – and our children.
WHAT attitude should we have to porn – not just as adults, but as parents?
In the wake of Safer Internet Day 2015 it seems a good question, not least because research shows that most boys seek explicit images by the age of 10, when they’re most sexually curious – and it’s never been easier to find them.
Read moreMind your language!
Careless words can reinforce prejudice. But guest blogger IAN MAXWELL from Families Need Fathers Scotland found that a timely challenge can reframe the debate.
A RECENT press release from the Department of Work and Pensions bore this heading: “The number of absent parents who are now paying towards the cost of their children through the Child Support Agency has hit an all-time high”.
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