[Videos] Two Powerful Videos for your Work with Dads

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know that we love to share videos you can use in your work with dads, and to show staff, decision makers, and stakeholders (e.g. board members) about the importance of serving and intentionally and proactively engaging dads.

Today, we've got two new videos to share with you!

A couple of weeks ago, I attended the second annual Texas Fatherhood Summit organized by the Child and Family Research Partnership (CFRP) at the University of Texas at Austin. (The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services funds the summit.) The theme of this year's conference was "Strengthening Services to Support Fathers." It was more of a workshop than conference.

The CFRP used the research it has done on fatherhood across the Lone Star State to engage the audience, primarily staff of direct-service providers, to apply what the CFRP has learned about strengthening fatherhood services through its statewide surveys of fathers and mothers and in-depth research with three direct-service providers that serve dads in group-based and home-visitation settings. (One of the coolest things about the conference was the conference program doubled as a workbook.)

As part of the CFRP's research since the first summit, they created two videos that you should consider integrating into your work with dads. (Click on the videos at the end of this post to watch them.)

The first video is entitled "Fathers' Perspectives on Fatherhood Programs."
This 18-minute video shows a diverse group of dads (e.g. race and age) that brought many in the audience to tears. The dads answered questions such as:

• Why did you join this fatherhood program?
• Why did you stay in this program?
• What did you gain by participating in this program?

The second video is entitled "Fathers Matter for the Whole Family."
This 9-minute video shows the same diverse group of dads answering questions such as:

• Where do men learn to be fathers?
• How does society view fathers?
• What more can society do to support fathers?

Ideas for using these videos:

• Both videos are ideal for building your own and other staff members' capacity to better engage dads and for showing decision makers and stakeholders the importance of engaging dads.
• You can also use the first one early in a fatherhood program to show dads the benefits of continuing to participate in your program.
• You can also integrate the second one into the sessions of a fatherhood program, such as 24/7 Dad® or InsideOut Dad®, that includes content that addresses those very questions.

Video 1: Fathers' Perspectives on Fatherhood Programs - Access on YouTube Here.

Video 2: Fathers Matter for the Whole Family - Access on YouTube Here.