Help fathers get involved in early years, says Princess

Men need help as much as women at the start of their parenting journey, research for royal foundation finds

THE Princess of Wales is to work to raise awareness of the importance of fathers in children’s earliest years.

The Princess, who has met with a number of fathers’ groups, hopes to improve public knowledge about the essential role they should play from the first moments of a baby’s life.

Christian Guy, who heads the Princess’s Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, explained there was a “real need” to provide information and support for men in a world where many fathers feel their parenting begins in earnest when a child is older.

He said: “The more we can do as a society to support people as they begin their parenting journey the better – dads as well as mums.”

The drive follows research commissioned by the foundation which found that only 19 per cent of the UK population could correctly identify the period between pregnancy and the age of five as the most important period for shaping a child’s future. While one in four women did so, they were matched by only 14 per cent of men.

The Princess has begun the process of listening to fathers about how to engage men. She has asked experts in the sector for their advice on how to “shine a light” on the importance of fathers, bring them into parenting groups and support their mental health.

Mr Guy said: “There remains a real need to provide information, advice and support to men about what a significant role they can play in the earliest days, weeks and months – and even before the baby is born – which is such an important period developmentally and begins to lay foundations for the rest of their lives.”

He added that there were organisations already doing “fantastic work” to support fathers, but such help “is far from universally available”.

In June, the Princess visited Maidenhead Rugby Club and, at the suggestion of Ugo Monye, the former England player, spoke to men there about their experiences as first-time fathers.

Monye, one of the public figures championing the Princess’s Shaping Us campaign to raise awareness of the importance of early childhood, said he had been “so highly impressed by Her Royal Highness and her dedication to a topic which connects so many of us”.

Saying it was important to “shine a brighter light on dads, their impact and their influence”, he added it had been “amazing to have that conversation facilitated” by the Princess.

“For dads to be able to share their experiences and lean into their responsibility is so important,” he said. “I often feel as if when we talk about parenting, fathers might be an afterthought. Anecdotally, I think dads can find themselves slightly isolated, and don’t feel there’s as much support out there for them.”

Nigel Clarke, a Cbeebies presenter who runs Dadvengers, a group for fathers to walk, talk and learn, said the Princess had been “very supportive” during her visit in November, “asking us how we’d managed to engage dads so well” and creating plans to work together further with her foundation.

“The dads are out there and they want to get involved,” he said. “But if you were to walk into a baby or toddler group, most of them will have 90 per cent women there. For some men, that’s a bit uncomfortable. If you’ve got a space that’s more dad-heavy, it changes the whole dynamic to a family space.”

He added: “Often dads think they can’t get involved until they can take them [older children] to football or dance. But actually getting involved from before babies are even born is so important. Having a mum and dad stable and involved, whether they’re together or not, is massively helpful.”

‘If you’ve got a baby or toddler group that’s more dad-heavy, it changes the dynamic to a family space’