Evaluation: When Mom Involves Dad, Children Win

Over the years, NFI has been asked, "What do you have for Mothers?" In response, we surveyed our customers and partners regarding creating a resource for mothers. With overwhelming support, we proceeded to create a program designed specifically for mothers, to help them improve the relationships they have with fathers, for the benefit of their children. Now, thanks to a recent study, our ground-breaking program Understanding Dad™: An Awareness and Communication Program for Moms has been shown to be successful in a number of ways. 

Temple University evaluated the effects of mothers’ participation in Understanding Dad™ as part of an eight-week intervention program on mothers’ relationship awareness, knowledge of healthy relationships, and relationship self-efficacy.

Key Results:

• Thirty-four (34) mothers were recruited from four (4) sites to participate in a study that used a pretest/post-test one-group design. Over the course of this eight-week program, mothers demonstrated moderate to large gains in each of the outcome measures, after controlling for mothers’ educational level. 
• Moreover, there was one significant within-subjects interaction effect for time × location. That is, mothers made significantly greater gains in pro-relationship knowledge in one of the intervention sites. 
• The findings are also consistent with the idea that co-parenting interventions may be effective when only one parent, and not both parents, attend the program. However, future evaluations should use more rigorous methods to assess whether programs are equally effective when only mothers are involved versus when mothers and fathers attend a program.

View the full Temple University evaluation here.

The great news is that many other organizations have run Understanding Dad™ and have had similar success. Mothers who were previously uninterested in involving dad in their child(ren)'s lives better understand his importance for the benefit of the child, and become open to the idea of involving him.

As you are probably aware, research shows that one in three children in the U.S. grow up in a home without his or her biological father, and the lack of father involvement increases the risk that children will suffer from a range of social, emotional, and physical ills. Unfortunately, many times it's the mothers' gatekeeping behavior that can prevent or reduce fathers' access to their children - when fathers' involvement in their children's lives would actually benefit their children. In addition, mothers can lack the self-awareness and communications skills they need to improve their relationships with the fathers of their children.

By engaging moms in father involvement, you can increase your success in supporting families and make a huge difference in the lives of children.

When mom involves dad, children win. 

Do you serve mothers who struggle to understand and communicate with the father(s) of their child(ren)? 

The Understanding Dad™ program helps mothers improve the relationships they have with fathers, for the benefit of their children. View the full product information here.

Or Download a Sample of Understanding Dad: