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By Full-Time Dads

Dadsnet:

Helping Home-dads network since 1996!

One of the most common complaints we hear from home-dads is that they feel isolated. Most of us have come from a workplace, from spending our days with our peers, either in the office, at the job-site, or at least on the phone. We enter into a world where the expectations are unclear, there is no training or warm-up time available, and there's no one to talk to around the water cooler. Taken all at once, it can be terribly frustrating.

Well, we can't do anything about the job expectations or the lack of training, but we can help you get in touch with your peers. Beleive it or not, there are millions-yes, millions-of you out there. Still, it can be tricky, if not impossible, to locate other home-dads in your area, but there are a few techniques that can help:

If you can't find a playgroup you feel comfortable with, make your own. See if you can put a listing in your local community newspaper. most newspapers have a section devoted to local goings-on. They're not advertisments, but listings of public events. Pick a day of the week, and annouince the formation of a Home-dads playgroup. List your phone number, and see what happens. Get the listing into every newspaper and newsletter you can find.
Put together a flier that you can post on library bulletin boards and other public posting places. The idea is to get the word out that you're looking to connect with other home-dads.
Hang out at the library story-hour, the local playground or mall. If you see another dad with his kids, go talk to him. Use those schmoozing skills. Try something like, "How did you get to be so lucky to be able to spend the morning with your kids?" Ask them about their kids-what age, what grade, etc. Don't let them get away without exchanging phone numbers. Just pretend you're at a sales meeting, or a convention, and you're making client contacts. It's really the same thing.

Another great resource is Dad-To-Dad. Curtis Cooper, (dadtodad@aol.com) a home-dad in the Atlanta area, has been working with other home-dads all accross the country, helping them network and put together dads groups. The group he started now has over thirty members, and has broken into two separate groups. Curtis has listings for other fathers looking to network, and he can help you find contacts in your neck of the woods. Tell him Full-Time Dads sent you.

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