In an economy where the work days keep getting longer and money keeps getting tighter, new fathers face the challenge of how to find time to spend with their babies and still cover the bills.
Greg Bishop, founder of Boot Camp for New Dads, a non-profit orientation program for fathers-to-be, operating in more than 260 hospitals, clinics, schools, fire stations and churches around North America and internationally, and author of two books on fathering, provides new fathers with tips for spending at least a few hours a week with their baby.
Bishop offers strategies from the more than 200,000 new dads that have gone through Boot Camp in his second book, Crash Course for New Dads: Tools, Checklists and Cheat Sheets on how dads can spend time with their babies even though they work long hours or frequently travel away from home:
· Do everything you can to make sure you are there for your baby’s birth.
· Change that first diaper. Make the time you do have with your baby count as much as possible. Set the tone that you are here to be a player and get involved early.
· Strive for solutions that enable you to spend time with your child. Figure out how to work from home if possible, even if it is just once a week.
· When you are home, make sure you spend time alone with your baby. Don’t let your limited experience caring for your baby limit you. Send mom out for an afternoon and just do it.
· Play with your baby before you leave in the morning and just after you get home. Many dads report that their babies sleep longer if they play with them at night.
· Keep your baby’s picture where you’ll see it often and keep him/her in mind.
· Call mom and catch up on your baby’s antics of the day.
· Use technology! Have mom hold the phone to your baby’s ear so you can talk to him/her. Ask her to send pictures to your cell phone or email.
· Be really creative. A young father who was deployed to Iraq recorded himself singing a dozen nursery rhymes which his wife plays for their baby every day so that their baby will recognize dad’s voice when he returns.
“Today’s economic realities create difficult circumstances. Many careers demand long work hours; your new baby will add to your financial requirements and your mate is going to be out of commission as an income generator for at least a little while,” explained Bishop. “Yes, it’s going to be an ongoing challenge, but if fathers work at spending time with their baby, it’s the most rewarding challenge they will ever take on.”
Bishop’s first book, Hit the Ground Crawling, covers work balance, being a dad, caring for a new mom and much more. Both books are available online at www.DadsAdventure.com.
New Dads Learn What to Expect at Boot Camp Workshops
Dads-to-be will be better equipped to face the challenges and opportunities of fatherhood after attending a Boot Camp “hands on” educational workshop. Men attend the class when they are expecting their first baby, and are joined in the workshop by “veterans” who had previously attended and have returned with their two to four-month-old baby in tow. They are able to give the dads-to-be a realistic idea of what to do and what to expect when their first baby comes. For many men attending, it’s their first time holding a baby.
Boot Camp for New Dads
Now celebrating their 18th year, Boot Camp for New Dads is nationally acclaimed as the “Best Practice” for preparing men to be fathers and has been named a U.S. Navy Model Program. Boot Camp for New Dads has prepared more than 200,000 men for fatherhood over the years.
With more than 4.1 million births last year alone (National Center for Health Statistics), and approximately 1.5 million men becoming new dads every year, it’s more important than ever for fathers to realize that being a “good provider” is only part of the very central role they have in their children’s lives.
For more information about Boot Camp for New Dads, visit www.bcnd.org. To arrange an interview with Greg Bishop, please contact sdubin@prworkzone.com, (781) 582-1061.
National and International Locations
Boot Camp For New Dads locations include ALASKA (Anchorage); ARIZONA (Chandler, Flagstaff, Gilbert, Mesa, Phoenix, Scottsdale, Sun City); ARKANSAS (Jonesboro, Paragould, Springdale); CALIFORNIA (Apple Valley, Bakersfield, , Fresno, Garden Grove, Irvine, Laguna Hills, Madera, Merced, Mission Hills, , Oakland, Orange, Pomona, Port Hueneme, San Diego, Santa Ana, Santa Barbara, , S. Lake Tahoe, Travis, Valley Springs); COLORADO (Aurora, Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver, Durango, Fort Collins, Fort Carson, Greeley, Longmont, Thornton, Wheat Ridge); CONNECTICUT (Bristol, Danbury, New London); FLORIDA (Brandon, Clearwater, Hollywood, Jacksonville, North Palm Beach, Orlando, St. Petersburg, West Palm Beach, Sarasota, Tampa); GEORGIA (Atlanta, Elberton, Gainesville, Marietta, Savannah); HAWAII (Pearl Harbor, Schofield); ILLINOIS (Aurora, Carbondale, Champaign, Chicago, East St. Louis, Evanston, Freeport, Geneva, Great Lakes, Highland Park, Libertyville, Moline, Oak Park, Rockford, Springfield, Urbana, Winfield); INDIANA (Anderson, Bluffton, Hammond, Indianapolis, Jeffersonville, Kokomo); IOWA (Cedar Rapids, Des Moines, Jefferson, Sioux City); KANSAS (Junction City, Topeka); KENTUCKY (Paducah); LOUISIANA (Covington); MAINE (Auburn, Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Waterville); MARYLAND (Annapolis) MASSACHUSETTS (Beverly, Ipswich, Lowell, Nantucket, Plymouth, Weymouth, Springfield); MICHIGAN (, Ann Arbor, Bay City, Centreville, Iron Mountain, Ithaca, Kalamazoo, Niles, St Joseph, Ypsilanti); MINNESOTA (Brainerd, Duluth, Robbinsdale); MISSISSIPPI (Tupelo); MISSOURI (Jefferson City) MONTANA (Billings, Helena, Miles City); NEBRASKA (Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha); NEVADA (Las Vegas) NEW HAMPSHIRE (Manchester, Portsmouth); NEW JERSEY (Princeton) NEW YORK (Glens Falls, Little Falls, Mineola, Rome, Utica); NORTH CAROLINA (Burlington, Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Concord, Ft. Bragg, Greensboro, Monroe, Raleigh, Shelby); NORTH DAKOTA (Grand Forks); OHIO (Akron, Cleveland, Columbus, East Cleveland, East Liverpool, Garfield Heights, Lima, Lorain, Mayfield Heights, Middleburg Heights, Orange Village, Portsmouth, Toledo, Warren, Westlake, Youngstown); OKLAHOMA (Claremore, Oklahoma City, Tulsa); OREGON (Corvalis, McMinnville, Salem, Silverton); SOUTH CAROLINA (Columbia, Pickens, Walhalla); TENNESSEE (Chattanooga, Knoxville, Memphis); TEXAS (Amarillo, Dallas, Fort Hood, Longview, Lubbock, Plano, San Antonio, Texarkana, Waco, Webster); VERMONT (Barre, Brattleboro, Middlebury); VIRGINIA (Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Hampton, Richmond) WASHINGTON (Everett, Fairchild AFB, Longview, Olympia, Puyallup, Yakima); WEST VIRGINIA (Wheeling); WISCONSIN (Florence, Green Bay, Madison, Oshkosh, Watertown, Wausau); JAPAN (Atsugi, Yokosuka), ITALY (Sicily); UNITED KINGDOM [a.k.a. Hit the Ground Crawling] (Birmingham, Liverpool)
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