Families often divide childcare responsibilities along gender lines.

The following tips are designed to help dads conquer their fear of the unknown and to go where they’ve rarely gone before—the changing table, over the side of the bathtub, and into the grocery store.

Dads Can:

• Get a child dressed.
  Be in charge of helping their child get ready for the day. Create their own unique routine, one that’s different from mom’s routine.
• Read up.
  Whether the father of an infant, a toddler or a teen, make an effort to learn about a child’s age and stage of development. Read up on how to change a diaper, how to prepare a nursery, how to handle a tantrum or what toys to use to help a child learn and grow. Read also about the role a dad can play.
• Read to their children.
  Carve out time for father time, be it everyday or every Saturday, when a child knows he can sit down with his dad and listen to stories. Dads can take special field trips to the library or bookstores to let a child look at book selections so they can get a good understanding of what a child likes to read.
• Make a weekend morning a dad’s morning.
  Declare Saturday or Sunday mornings father time. Learn the morning routine ropes well enough to get a child out of bed, dressed and fed without the help of mom and go somewhere fun. Or go out for breakfast, just with dad. This is time both a child and mother will look forward to.
• Get comfortable in the grocery store.
  Make a concerted effort to learn the foods and supplies that mom buys every week for the kids and offer to go to the store to get them. Take a list along, and ask the child to help find the things throughout the store.
• Help tackle sleep issues.
  Whether dealing with an infant who’s yet to sleep through the night or a toddler who’s having nightmares, take turns with mom getting out of bed when issues arise in the middle of the night. It’s tiring, but a great opportunity to comfort and connect with a child, as well as give mom a rest.

This tipsheet is part of the Success By 6™ Parent Toolkit (pictured left).

Also included in the toolkit are tipsheets on meal ideas for young children, everyday activities for dads, childcare checklist and more.

Order your free toolkit now.

Source: Born Learning™, a public engagement and material distribution campaign that provides important information about what young children need every day to ensure quality early learning.  Designed to support you in your critical role as a child's first teacher, Born Learning materials are made available through the efforts of United Way, United Way Success By 6™ and Civitas.