Fathering

Doug Gertner, Task Group Leader

Doug Gertner is an educator and consultant on issues including fatherhood and work-life balance. He is founder and principal of Emu Consulting, LLC, and is on the editorial board of the journal Men and Masculinities. Doug is a national trainer for Boot Camp for New Dads along with teaching college classes on issues of men and masculinity.

Want To Be A Good Dad? Support Mom And Avoid Father’s Rights Groups

By Trish Wilson
Reprinted with permission of the author

Over the past decade, fatherhood has been all the rage and dads are naturally the talk of pundits on Father’s Day. So let’s say you’re a divorcing dad and you’re having trouble coping. You look for help on the internet and discover the father’s rights movement.

Be warned – avoid father’s rights groups like the plague.

Father Facts: The Importance of Being an Active Dad

Fathers matter, we are aware of that, but we may not know exactly what a male presence brings to children and families. Stop for just a moment and ask yourself “what’s most important about being (or having) an active dad in the picture?” You can probably come up with several good reasons why fathers should be integrally involved with their kids and partners.

The Daddy Balance

Like a walk on a high wire or an advanced yoga pose, the challenge of balancing our work and family life keeps most fathers on our toes. During my regular workshops with soon-to-be first-time fathers, their top concern is time management after their child arrives. As men we tend to identify closely with our paid work, and our important role as breadwinner comes most naturally to many of us.

The History and Odyssey of Pro-Feminist American Fathers

Ever wonder where fathers fit in the history of Pro-Feminist American Families?

According to Dr. Joseph Pleck, the Victorian father was “Moral Overseer” of his family, the one who taught them right from wrong, good from bad, and to fear God. This is a noble and necessary role for a father, to be sure, yet fathers in this era showed little affection to their children, especially sons, and during this time when slavery was practiced in parts of America, the image of father as overseer brings to mind the troubling image of slave ownership.