DADDY COOL
Chris opens up about struggles of being a first-time dad:
A TOWNSVILLE father’s love for his newborn son has seen the first-time dad turn to Facebook to break the feeling of fear and isolation.
Chris Stone welcomed baby Freddie in March this year and from the minute his partner, Taylah S, told him she was pregnant, he started preparing for fatherhood.
There was just one problem. Mr Stone was unable to find the support and guidance he was desperately seeking to prepare him to be a parent.
“The minute Taylah found out she was pregnant, she instantly joined all these mothers’ groups online and had all this support and help,” he said.
“When I looked up fathers’ groups, there wasn’t the same level of support that existed for us and there was definitely a feeling of isolation.”
In response to the lack of networking for fathers, the Rosslea dad launched the Who’s Your Daddy Facebook group on June 29 and it has already amassed 330 members.
The group discusses a broad range of topics from postnatal depression to favourite baby products. Mr Stone said he believed Who’s Your Daddy was “long overdue” to help dads navigate their new lives.
“You are always doubting yourself thinking, ‘am I doing this right’ but at the end of the day we all want to be good dads and relate to our kids,” he said.
“I think from a perspective of seeking support from each other, we are all going to be better off to talk about our problems and relate to each other.”
With members from Australia, Kenya and Ireland, Mr Stone said he was fascinated by the reach of the group.
“I just thought we would get a dozen guys to talk and support each other so I wasn’t expecting it to be spread around the world,” he said.
“It is at the point where I am getting messages that I can’t reply to and so many people are thanking me for starting the group.”