What’s On For Dads In May?

It finally feels like Spring has sprung and May is blooming for Dads Rock! We’ve got lots of exciting workshops for our Dads and families as well as our regular playgroups. Please sign up via our calendar and we’ll see you soon!

Groups

Greg (pictured wearing Dads Rock t-shirt) sat outside with two children and a Dad. They are playing with Lego and train tracks.

• Dads Playgroup, Edinburgh - Join us in Edinburgh every Saturday and Sunday at 10am at Gorgie Mem. These are the perfect place to meet other Dads and connect with your wee one through play, song and stories, ran by our Family Worker, Greg. This playgroup is open to all Dads/male carers and children under 5.

• Dads Playgroup, Glasgow - Join us in Glasgow every Saturday at 10am at Easterhouse Sports Centre. These are the perfect place to meet other Dads and connect with your wee one through play, song and stories, ran by our Family Worker, Amy. This playgroup is open to all Dads/male carers and children under 5.

• Three Towns Dads and Baby Group, North Ayrshire - Our Dads and Baby Group takes place every Wednesday at 18:30 at Ardeer Neighbourhood Centre Creche. This group is open to all Dads and babies under 1, and is the perfect place to connect with your baby, meet other Dads and get some friendly advice from our Dads Worker, Ryan.

• Dads and Baby Group, Edinburgh - Our Dads and Baby Group takes place every Tuesday at 18:30 at Gorgie Mem. This group is open to all Dads and babies under 1, and is the perfect place to connect with your baby, meet other Dads and get some friendly advice from our Family Worker, Greg.

Workshops

Hairdressing workshop - 7 Dads and their children taking part in hairstyling activities

• Antenatal, Online - Our online antenatal class takes place on 14th May at 7pm. We’ll be teaching a variety of antenatal skills, from nappy changing, feeding, sleep routines and more. This is open to all Dads across the UK.

• First Aid, Glasgow - Our popular First Aid class is back in Glasgow on 21st May at 7pm. This class is taught by First Stop Safety Training with a focus on baby and small children First Aid. We’ll be covering lots of important topics such as burns, cuts, bruises, choking, CPR and more. This workshop is open to all parents and carers.

• Antenatal, Edinburgh - Our Edinburgh antenatal class takes place on 27th May at 7pm. This class is open to all Dads in Edinburgh, and focuses on creating a safe environment for Dads to learn antenatal skills. We’ll be teaching skills from feeding to sleep routines, bathing and more, as well as providing practical skills on nappy changing.

• Antenatal, Glasgow - Our Glasgow antenatal class takes place on 29th May at 7pm. This class is open to all Dads in Edinburgh, and focuses on creating a safe environment for Dads to learn antenatal skills. We’ll be teaching skills from feeding to sleep routines, bathing and more, as well as providing practical skills on nappy changing.

• Hairstyling, Edinburgh - Join us on 1st June at 10am at Gorgie Mem for a hairstyling workshop! You’ll learn how to brush and care for your child’s hair, as well as popular styles such as ponytails, plaits, space buns and more! All you’ll need to bring is your child, a hairbrush and some hair accessories.

Trips

Our Dads Trips are back at the end of the month! We will be touring some local fire stations - more information to come soon!

April Round-Up

Lloyds Banking Group volunteered with us for a day! Pictured are the team along with CEO Thomas (right hand side in the black Dads Rock t-shirt).

We recently launched our Dads and Baby Group for Edinburgh, ran by our Family Worker, Greg. After the great success of our North Ayrshire group, we knew we wanted to bring it to Edinburgh, and are so thankful for all the Dads and babies who popped along! We played games and chatted over cuppas, connected with our little ones, and Greg was on hand to give friendly advice and help our Dads adjust to this new life transition.

We also launched the Raising Children With Confidence course in Edinburgh. This is a six week course aimed at parents of children age 0-11, and focuses on raising confident, resilient children. So far we’ve covered children’s mental health and wellbeing, how experiences shape the brain, and creating positive relationships and attachments.

Outside of our busy calendar, the team at Dads Rock has also been busy. Our fantastic Family Worker Maddy recently completed a Thrive Leadership course with Inspiring Scotland. This was a six month course covering practical leadership, organisational culture and outdoor learning, delivered by industry experts within the charity sector. Congratulations Maddy!

Our Marketing Intern Shannon completed a Dynamic Youth Award with Lothian Association of Youth Clubs. This award was in conjunction with SCQF Level 3 Ready For Youth Work, a course for new workers within the youth sector to learn about running youth activities, child protection and plenty more.

We also had some fantastic volunteers from Lloyds Banking Group Edinburgh come along to Gorgie Mem. The team got their hands dirty cleaning toys, wedding and gardening, as well as generally tidying up the area. This will really benefit our groups, particularly the playgroups as summer comes in - allowing our wee ones and their Dads to play outside and enjoy the sunshine. Thanks you for your fantastic efforts - you rock!