Benefits of daddy play

Abstract

The Fathers' Engagement Project was designed to assess the impact and feasibility of a six week physically active play based programme on fathers' engagement with their three to five year old children. Sessions were held at City based Children's Centres. Fathers' engagement and attitudes to child PA were measured pre-and post-intervention via questionnaire. Acceptability of the intervention was explored through participant and staff focus groups. Results from questionnaires showed that fathers felt more in control of their children and had increased awareness of their role in motivating their child to play. Fathers also suggested that sessions provided opportunities to spend quality time with their children despite there being no significant increase in the overall time fathers self-reported spending with their child during the week or at the weekend. A number of recommendations for both research and practice are provided. What was the Fathers' Engagement Project?Researchers and policy makers have reported the benefits of positive paternal involvement, particularly during the child's early development e.g., language acquisition, motor skills, and social skills. These benefits provide positive outcomes for the child in their teenage and adult years, while demonstrating a clear link between uninvolved fatherhood (the lack of paternal involvement) and societal problems. Active play programmes have been used to increase levels