According to the definition of the World Health Organization one should understand health as the whole physical, spiritual and social welfare, and not only absence of illnesses or physical defects. Therefore, an important component of family’s health is the psychological stability of the relations of all its members. In the families, where there are children under the age of 1, such stability can be achieved through the more active role of a man in the process of upbringing and taking care of the child. Training of all the willing persons based on their place of residence in young dad school (DS) can really encourage it.
Taking into consideration the fact that in Kirovohrad region a need for introducing specialized educational program for future husbands has appeared; the first dad school was opened in the city in 2005. The introduction of the program allowed not only increasing the quality of partner child delivery in Hospital №1, but also establishing harmonious, gender-equal relations inside the families of young dad school graduates.
The program of training of young dads lets each participant get basic knowledge of the procedure of partner child delivery and the role of a man in them; peculiarities of sexual relations with the wife in the pre- and after- birth periods; fulfilling necessary legal procedures related to child birth; right choice of child nutrition, items of hygiene and clothes, as well as other accessories. Besides, the training permits each participant find an answer to most of the questions, which worry a young dad, and assists in establishing harmonious, gender-balanced relations inside the families of the trainees.
The work of dad schools goes through training men in one of the groups of young dads. A group generally involves from 6 to 15 men who either are getting ready to become fathers, or have already become ones. One of the consultants of dad school works with the group of men who already have children. Each man who is the consultant of dad school corresponds to the 3 main requirements: he has his own child/children, he has the experience of positive fatherhood, and he has undergone special training for dad school consultants. Classes take place once a week and last 2 hours. All in all dad school participants attend 4 classes: “Art of being a father”, “Partner child delivery as it is”, “Dad-practicum”, “Basics of harmonious relations in the family”. On completion of the training each participant receives a certificate, which gives him the right to take part in partner child delivery in maternity hospital №1 of Kirovohrad.
Currently, a team of 12 consultants exists in Kirovohrad region. Dad schools work in 5 districts of Kirovohrad region (Kirovohrad and 4 districts); they form a network of dad schools of Kirovohrad region. More than 300 men of Kirovohrad region have become its graduates; more than 70% of them took part in the partner child delivery afterwards.
Despite successful experience of work of the network of dad schools of Kirovohrad region in the preparation of men to conscious fatherhood, the network itself faces the following challenges at present:
§ lack of professional personnel, especially at local level, which leads to inability of spreading the territory of activity of dad schools in spite of the existing social demand;
§ lack of stable sources of funding, which influences sustainability of the work of dad schools, firstly at district level;
§ practical lack of information materials on the work of dad schools, which doesn’t allow giving a definite reply to gender stereotypes, which are in the heads of Ukrainians, especially in rural areas;
§ insufficient information support of the work of dad schools, which doesn’t allow involving in the activity of dad schools a considerable amount of representatives of the target group.
One of the ways of solving the enumerated problems is introducing a fee for the work of the network of dad schools of Kirovohrad region. As dad schools is a social project, money from the payment for services of the consultants will be used for providing the work of the school and its popularizing among the public.
At present the Network of dad schools of Kirovohrad region faces lack of information materials on the topic of work of dad schools and on making the idea of responsible fatherhood popular, as well as overcoming gender stereotypes. Partial solution of the existing problem is the support from the Open Ukraine Fund, aimed at publishing information materials of the Network of dad schools of Kirovohrad region.
In the framework of the granted support the Network of dad schools of Kirovohrad region will publish in 2009:
- a new version of the information booklet “Dad school”
- the next issue of the series of comics “Marriage without defects”
- informational film “Basic men’s instinct”
