Fatherhood Initiative – Right before father’s day this year President Obama had lunch with two barbers in an effort to launch a new program called “Fatherhood Buzz”. The program’s purpose is to allow fathering advice to spread through conversations in barber shops.
The concept is brilliant since the barbershop is a place where conversation is happening naturally and a place that is dominated by men and a place where men have to go to.
Obama’s Fatherhood Initiative
This Fatherhood Initiative seems to have value on so many levels -
The conversation is being brought to where the men already are - Men have to go to the barbershop and men are already there. There is a community atmosphere where some of the members of the community are already there and some members of the community are rotating. As a result, there are always men with new ideas coming in and out and men who can spread those ideas who are already there (the barbers). This does not require any additional meeting or training, just a lit bit of focus.
The conversation does not have to be long but it can be impactful - Men go to the barbershop at fairly regular intervals, so they can measure the progress that they made since the last time that they visited. If a man, a father, takes one nugget of information each time he visits the barber shop, he can implement that nugget before the next time that he comes back to the shop. He can decide whether or not he is making progress and there will be some fabric of the community that can also hold him accountable.
For those participating in Obama’s Fatherhood Initiative, below are a couple of pieces of information that may be helpful -
It takes an army to raise a child - Men are loners by nature. We run in packs but we really want to be free and self sufficient. We don’t like to ask for help. However, in raising a child, it is imperative that we build a huge team. This includes babysitters, teachers, parents of friends, mentors, aunts, uncles and mothers. The deeper the relationships we can build with other people and the more we can give and get from our team, the greater the experience our child will have. We, as fathers, can only teach our children so much and they can only learn so much from us. Making sure that our kids are getting influenced by a lot of positive role models may be the difference between a child that flourishes and a child that does not.
Sugar is a drug - Sorry to throw this one in there but kids have too much sugar and sugar rots the brain. It is simple as that. I am not saying that sugar should be eliminated completely. However, I am saying that we should definitely support our kids in moderating their sugar intake. This will make a big difference in their focus, stability of moods and overall health.
Just be there - As a father, I want to be free and I want to roam. I think all fathers have this desire. However, spending quantity and quality time with kids is imperative. They need to know and experience that they are number 1 to us, even if we have so many competing priorities that may take us away. Remember that they will only be in the age that they are once and you can never get that time back. This may mean figuring out how to work more efficiently so we have more time and it may mean getting a little less sleep. However, for everybody’s benefit, please be there because you never know when they will need the influence of a positive role model.
The Fatherhood Initiative – “Fatherhood Buzz” should spread beyond barber shops to any place where men congregate and is an awesome opportunity to have a huge impact on today’s fathers and future generations.
Fatherhood Initiative – Empower Network @ 2012
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