Ottawa@Home.Dads

WHY A SPECIAL PLACE FOR DADS?
When I first became the sole weekday caregiver for my son, I did not fully realize the degree isolation that at-home parents, especially those of very young children, can experience.

This isolation in the home was compounded by the distancing dads often encounter at playgroups and on the playground, where, vastly outnumbered by women, dads are the odd ones out, viewed sometimes with suspicion and frequently excluded from the mums' adult conversations and plans.

It was these experiences that led me to launch this group. At first, simply as a way to seek out other dads, to talk to or meetup with. But as the number of members has grown, and I have heard other dads who have had the same experiences, I have come to see this group as an important support to the growing number of men who are staying at home with their children.

WHO WE ARE?
Members are dads who are staying home from work to care for their children, whether for an indeterminate period of time, on temporary parental leave, or while also working part-time.

WHAT WE OFFER:

• free playgroups/meetups held in members' homes;
• a forum for general discussions of topics of interest to @home dads;
• a member database to enable individual members living in the same neighbourhood, or with kids of the same age, to meetup for playdates;
• information postings of interest (announcements of upcoming kid-friendly events, useful websites, recommendations about playgroups and daycares, etc.)

To find out more about our upcoming playgroups and other activities simply sign up for the group.

Cheers,
Michael Moderator, Ottawa@Home.Dads