Fatherhood Digest No. 1: A Father’s Care Recognized as Work

A weekly roundup of news about fatherhood and family: research, government programs, events and initiatives from around the world.

Serbia: caring for a child recognized as work

Since October 1, Serbia has had a “parent-caregiver” status (roditelj-negovatelj). It is intended for parents who cannot work normally because they provide constant, intensive care for a child. The status provides a monthly payment of 65,000 dinars, payment of taxes and contributions, and counts toward pension and health insurance. Applications are reviewed within 15 days and can be submitted online or through a social work center.

The status is open not only to mothers but also to fathers. In this way the state recognizes that the father of a child with serious health conditions can be the child’s main caregiver, and that everyday care is real work.

USA: Maryland launches the Family Resiliency Program

Parent Encouragement Program, together with the state government, is recruiting a new Family Resiliency Program cohort. Up to 300 fathers will take an eight-week online course in small groups. Priority goes to fathers from 30 communities that take part in the state’s child poverty reduction program. The key feature: the groups are led by program graduates.

Fathers learn active listening, conflict management and emotional support based on the “four S” model: the child is seen, safe, securely attached and soothed. According to an independent evaluation by NORC, 83% of participants in earlier groups reported that their relationship with their child had improved. The sample size is not stated in the public summary.

Uruguay: Pope Leo XIV addresses fathers and grandfathers

On November 8, during his apostolic visit to Uruguay, Pope Leo XIV spoke specifically to fathers and grandfathers at a service in the city of Florida. He stressed that children need to see that faith has a real place in the lives of the men in their family.

The Pope urged men to pray, take part in the life of the Church, respect their wives, know how to ask for forgiveness and live honestly. He held up Joseph, who raised Jesus, as an example. The main message: a father guides his children in faith not so much by words as by the personal example they see.

Montenegro: parents punish their children less

The journal Child Protection and Practice has published an evaluation of the Parenting for Lifelong Health program for parents of children aged 2 to 9. It was implemented in Montenegro with support from UNICEF and researchers from the universities of Bangor, Oxford, Cape Town and Bielefeld. Eighty parents completed 12 weekly sessions in seven local services.

Researchers noted high attendance and a statistically significant reduction in physical and emotional punishment. There are also preliminary improvements in children’s behavior and reduced parental depression. The study had no control group, and fathers’ results were not analyzed separately. Still, it is a good example of an international method being built into a local family support system.

Saudi Arabia: measuring family involvement in a child’s education

Researchers from Shaqra University and the University of Sydney adapted the Family Involvement Questionnaire for Arabic-speaking settings. The final version has 17 questions in three areas: involvement in kindergarten life, learning at home, and family communication with teachers. The study included 135 people from Riyadh, and fathers made up 58% of the parents surveyed. The questionnaire was not simply translated: questions about forms of involvement that are not part of local practice were removed.

The most interesting finding concerns differing perspectives. Parents rated their involvement in home learning and communication with the school noticeably higher than professionals did: 3.43 vs 2.64 and 3.40 vs 2.66 on a five-point scale. The authors acknowledge that the sample is small and the conclusions are preliminary.

Poland: the 2nd Fathers’ Forum held in Wrocław

On November 7, the Wrocław Fathers’ Club held its second forum at CAL Ołtaszyn Art&Flow with support from a city project. Topics included a father’s hobbies as a parenting resource, relationship crises, men’s physical and mental health, using artificial intelligence for the good of the family, and paternal authority. At the end, the Tato.Net, 4Muszkieter and Męskie Kręgi initiatives were presented.

Fathers’ forums are increasingly becoming not only a place for motivation but also a platform for practical learning. A final report with attendance figures has not yet been published.

Poland: the first West Pomeranian Fathers’ Forum is fully booked

On November 15, Klub Taty is holding the 1st Zachodniopomorskie Forum Ojców in the town of Police. The program covers the strength of fathers’ communities, paternal authority, men’s mental health, marriage, children’s digital safety and men’s support circles. The main participant list is already full, and new registrants are being added to a waiting list.

France: Lyon parenting colloquium held online

On November 6 and 7, Université Lumière Lyon 2, the Réseau Parentalités Vulnérables network and WAIMH-France held the international colloquium Naissance(s) à la parentalité. Because of expected strikes, the whole program moved online. Alongside topics such as the perinatal period, migration, adolescence, disability and family violence, the colloquium included a separate workshop on fatherhood. The proceedings have not yet been published.

Coming up: fatherhood events in November

On November 10–12, Mexico City will host the first Latin American conference on investing in early childhood, where representatives of more than 30 countries will prepare a regional declaration on funding. On November 12, the Ohio Commission on Fatherhood will hold a hybrid meeting, and St. Johann in Tirol, Austria, will host the discussion “The Country Needs New Fathers” on attachment and fatherhood in different family models. On November 12 and 13, Elim Evangelistic Church Makupa in Mombasa, Kenya, will hold its second annual fathers’ conference.

In France, an evening meeting “Being a Father Today” will take place in Plabennec on November 16, and on November 26 there will be an online meeting “Fatherhood at the Heart of the Parenting Team” with fathers’ group leader Bruno Thouvenin.