Who Let the Dads Out?

Jane’s L19:Messy Church has recently started a Who Let the Dads Out? initiative – a drop-in bacon butty morning for dads and children on a Saturday. It’s going well, and our friends at WLTDO? have told us they have a few small grants of £100 to help start up a WLTDO? group, and have sent us information for a Mothering Sunday idea that other Messy Church leaders might like to pick up on. Here’s what Dirk sent:
Dads and tots cook up a storm for Mother’s Day event
It was a case of ‘Who let the dads in the kitchen?’ at a recent session of dads and tots group Who Let The Dads Out? at Hoole Lighthouse Centre as they got ready for their open day on Saturday 2 April .
The event, which will be held the day before Mother’s Day at the Centre on Westminster Road, Hoole, will be packed with activities for children and dads to make a special surprise for mum, including cupcake decorating and card making. National Development Advisor Dirk Uitterdijk said: ‘It’s a fantastic opportunity for any dads or male carers to come along with their children and see what we’re all about. You’ll get valuable time with your children, and mum will get some well deserved time off – everyone wins!’
‘The session starts for dads and their children from 10am. Mums are invited to come along from 11.30am to view the creative endeavors of their loved ones and enjoy a picnic lunch, finishing when all the food is gone. It should be an extremely enjoyable family event.’
Dirk continues: ‘Who Let The Dads Out? was set up by Mark & Su Chester in 2003 to create a safe, fun environment for dads to play and interact with their children. It’s male friendly too with bacon butties, fatherhood magazines, and, most importantly, around 25 other dads in exactly the same position.
‘We now have over 35 groups nationwide, including three in Chester. Our session at Hoole Lighthouse Centre runs every first Saturday of each month and is well attended. It’s geared to dads, grandads, male carers and their children from zero to preschool-aged. However, we also have “Schools Out, Dads About” for dads with older children. Dads who come along say it’s a really positive experience, and with all the cupcake making practice going on, we look set for some pretty impressive Mother’s Day offerings being created on 2 April too!’