Originally published in the Herald newspaper

I WAS never much of a Harry Potter fan, but I believe Emma Watson’s first major speech as UN Women Goodwill Ambassador was more powerful than any spell she cast as Hermione Granger.

CHRIS Turnbull and his one-year-old daughter Emily have an empowering message for dads who feel childcare services have forgotten them:

If you want a father-friendly playgroup, why not set one up yourself?

Single dads face the same barriers and problems as single mums, but tend to be more isolated. For our first “Focus on Fatherswork” blog, we find out about the ground-breaking support work of Us Together, a dads’ service run by One Parent Families Scotland.

“Other than breast-feeding, I’ve yet to find something that dads aren’t able to do!”

An exclusive interview with Jo Swinson, MP for East Dunbartonshire, UK employment minister – and one of the architects of the new Shared Parental Leave legislation.

Introducing NICK THORPE, journalist, travel writer, adoptive dad… and now National Development Officer for Fathers Network Scotland.

I love being a dad. It’s the hardest and richest thing I’ve ever done.

We’re delighted to announce that pioneer support group DadsWork has been saved from closure! The dramatic turn-around came after more than 500 people signed a petition, and East Lothian Council stepped in to make up the funding shortfall.

There comes a time when words must be backed up by action – and the threatened closure of DadsWork in East Lothian marks exactly that moment for those who say they want to help men to be the best fathers they can for their kids.

The pioneer support group is about to run out of funding just only weeks after the Scottish Parliament issued a call for expansion of such lifeline services – and ironically as we approach Father’s Day.

Take 70 p 3s and p 4s. Dress them up like teenagers. Pack them into a big dark hot and sweaty space. Continually shine bright coloured, flashy lights in their little faces. Shout indecipherable messages at them through a horrendously loud and fuzzy P.A system like a North Korean Dictator.

In the midst of a recent conversation at a parenting event I was attending I heard the phrase, "Sometimes I feel like I am just a taxi for my children!" It was said with a humourous grumpyness. How many of us have thought and felt the same, especially when you get the feeling that you are living your whole week at the local Leisure Centre and your children's times for their various classes are all higgledy piggledy and a logistical nightmare.

It's Valentine's day. Hype? A bumper season for florists? There are articles every where about love, from The Guardian Family Section on Saturday where we read about 5 couples who fell in love at first sight and seemed to buck the trend, 'Marry in haste, repent at leisure,' to 'Sense' the RBS Magazine which has emblazoned on the front, 'The Love Issue - The Chemistry of Falling in Love.'