Townsville Bulletin

DADDY COOL

GROUP GAINS WORLDWIDE FOLLOWING

- ELOISEELOI­S ARNOLD

WHAT started out as a small support group with a couple of hundred followers has now amassed close to 3000 fans in two months.

Chris Stone is the man behind Who’s Your Daddy? — a Facebook group he started in June after the birth of his son Freddie, now five months.

Mr Stone felt there wasn’t enough support for dads and started the Facebook group as a way to connect.

“Unintentio­nally, a lot of fathers are left out of the process, even just pregnancy to birth and labour, we’re kind of like the background characters,” Mr Stone said.

“There are so many dads out there that have all of these questions and they obviously needed an outlet to ask for support and advice.”

The group even has an internatio­nal audience, and on Sunday members will meet face-to-face for the first time at a gathering at The Strand.

Mr Stone said he was looking forward to building a community with other dads.

“The most important job in your life is being a dad or a parent,” he said.

“I can’t stress how important it is to be able to be there for your kids at any stage during their lives.”

He said he was expecting a good turnout for Sunday’s get-together and had arranged for a coffee cart to keep any sleep-deprived fathers awake.

Mr Stone said he was hoping to make the meeting a monthly event.

“I think we will try and do it monthly and if there is an appetite for more than that, I am happy to do that as well,” he said.

The meeting will get underway at 10am, with anyone able to participat­e.

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 ?? Picture: ALIX SWEENEY ?? SUPPORT: Founder of Who's Your Daddy? fatherhood group Chris Stone, with his five-month-old son Freddie, ahead of their first face-to-face group meeting at The Strand.
Picture: ALIX SWEENEY SUPPORT: Founder of Who's Your Daddy? fatherhood group Chris Stone, with his five-month-old son Freddie, ahead of their first face-to-face group meeting at The Strand.

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